This is very similar to Richard Feynmann's thought process. "Richard Feynman was fond of giving the following advice on how to be a genius. You have to keep a

This is very similar to Richard Feynmann's thought process. "Richard Feynman was fond of giving the following advice on how to be a genius. You have to keep a dozen of your favorite problems constantly present in your mind, although by and large they will lay in a dormant state. Every time you hear or read a new trick or a new result, test it against each of your twelve problems to see whether it helps. Every once in a while there will be a hit, and people will say: 'How did he do it? He must be a genius!'" (from http://www.amazon.com/Indiscrete-Thoughts-Gian-Carlo-Rota/dp/0817638660 http://www.amazon.com/Indiscrete-Thoughts-Gian-Carlo-Rota/dp...)