The best way (anecdotally) for me has been to not understand the subject matter at all, and just work work work on something until it's near completion. At that

The best way (anecdotally) for me has been to not understand the subject matter at all, and just work work work on something until it's near completion. At that point understanding the subject matter is much easier, and you can compare it to your own understanding and work. Many times I've since improved my work from subject matter because other people have had great ideas that stood the test of time, and very occasionally my work has created a new frontier without me really understanding it at the time. Still, revolutionary ideas are not always something that can be turned into a business. Funnily, I see many business ideas are just gluing things together, and I don't think anyone is really upset about that. As you said though, sometimes you have to go the wrong way (knowingly or unknowingly) just to see what's there or if there aren't missed opportunities. Heavily established (sub-)fields can be very rigid and hard to find new ground in.