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> The most important process underlying strokes of creative genius is the tendency to pay attention to things that normally should be ignored or filtered out.

by m52go 12y ago

> The most important process underlying strokes of creative genius is the tendency to pay attention to things that normally should be ignored or filtered out. I'd add that it's not only paying attention to these things, but questioning them. Noticing something no one else does is useless unless it incites action. Deciding to act upon something can only happen if there's sufficient curiosity. Curiosity comes from questions. Why? What if? How might one...? Questions are so fundamental to everything from creativity to innovation, management, sales, relationships...I just had my eyes opened by A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger.

emotionalcode 12y ago
How can you define action? Is it the summation, selection, and order of thoughts leading up the action, or is a web that connects possibly every observation and thought you've had?
- ChuckMcM 12y ago
  Acting is easy, its simply answering the question, or at least attempting to. That is the part where you can't just ignore it and go on with your life.
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drzaiusapelord 12y ago
>I'd add that it's not only paying attention to these things, but questioning them. Personally, I feel the rebellious aspects of intellectualism are far, far overplayed to the point of absurdity. It leads to buying into marginalized, if not discredited, ideas and not doing a proper investigation into mainstream knowledge. I mean, how many more reddit posts about the "evil" Federal Reserve or how terrible of a person Thomas Edison was do we need? Especially when these opinions are tied to politicized propaganda from the opposition and not remotely tied to a legitimate interest into monetary policy or late 19th century industry. I don't think young geeky introverts need to be told to be more rebellious, if anything they should learn to conform more, learn better social skills, understand the power of teams and collaboration, etc. I really wish someone told me this when I was younger. These attitudes did me a big disservice in life and I imagine I would have been much more successful otherwise.
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- the_hangman 12y ago
  This. It took far too long for me to realize that noticing and questioning something that others have either not noticed or not questioned didn't make me any smarter or better than anyone else. I think that a lot of younger, geeky types are always looking for or being told of reasons why they're better than their more socially-outgoing classmates. It's comforting to sit back and feel like you're winning because you see things that other people don't, but what really puts people ahead in the long run is being willing to confront the things which make them uncomfortable.
- m52go 12y ago
  > I mean, how many more reddit posts about the "evil" Federal Reserve or how terrible of a person Thomas Edison was do we need? Is that rebellion or groupthink? Either way, yes, most of it probably is useless. But what about the rebelliousness that brought about the hyperlink, the mouse, and the iPhone? Surely those inventions were rooted in questions that sought rebellion against established ways of doing things? There's a time to rebel and a time to conform. Rebellion without conformity leads to thinkers who have great ideas but no output. Conformity without rebellion leads to complacency and no progress. As with everything else, one needs balance.
  - drzaiusapelord 12y ago
    >But what about the rebelliousness that brought about the hyperlink, the mouse, and the iPhone? Are those really rebellions? TBL was a pretty milquetoast guy who built on top of a lot of things before him: TCP/IP, server OS, interconnected networks, and of course text-based predecessors to the web like Archie. He didn't wear all black and call everyone an idiot and magically produce something wonderful. He stood on the shoulders of giants and reached a little further.
kstenerud 12y ago
It's not so much the question as the pattern (either noticing a new pattern, or the break of an existing pattern). Everything operates in patterns, and some are more pleasing or more jarring than others. In either of these cases, it may spur you into investigating further, which may lead to an interesting discovery. Whether that discovery is useful or beautiful to other people or not is irrelevant.
- sbensu 12y ago
  > Everything operates in patterns very meta of you :)

by m52go 12y ago

emotionalcode 12y ago

How can you define action? Is it the summation, selection, and order of thoughts leading up the action, or is a web that connects possibly every observation and thought you've had?

ChuckMcM 12y ago
Acting is easy, its simply answering the question, or at least attempting to. That is the part where you can't just ignore it and go on with your life.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]

drzaiusapelord 12y ago

>I'd add that it's not only paying attention to these things, but questioning them. Personally, I feel the rebellious aspects of intellectualism are far, far overplayed to the point of absurdity. It leads to buying into marginalized, if not discredited, ideas and not doing a proper investigation into mainstream knowledge. I mean, how many more reddit posts about the "evil" Federal Reserve or how terrible of a person Thomas Edison was do we need? Especially when these opinions are tied to politicized propaganda from the opposition and not remotely tied to a legitimate interest into monetary policy or late 19th century industry. I don't think young geeky introverts need to be told to be more rebellious, if anything they should learn to conform more, learn better social skills, understand the power of teams and collaboration, etc. I really wish someone told me this when I was younger. These attitudes did me a big disservice in life and I imagine I would have been much more successful otherwise.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
deleted 12y ago
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the_hangman 12y ago
This. It took far too long for me to realize that noticing and questioning something that others have either not noticed or not questioned didn't make me any smarter or better than anyone else. I think that a lot of younger, geeky types are always looking for or being told of reasons why they're better than their more socially-outgoing classmates. It's comforting to sit back and feel like you're winning because you see things that other people don't, but what really puts people ahead in the long run is being willing to confront the things which make them uncomfortable.
m52go 12y ago
> I mean, how many more reddit posts about the "evil" Federal Reserve or how terrible of a person Thomas Edison was do we need? Is that rebellion or groupthink? Either way, yes, most of it probably is useless. But what about the rebelliousness that brought about the hyperlink, the mouse, and the iPhone? Surely those inventions were rooted in questions that sought rebellion against established ways of doing things? There's a time to rebel and a time to conform. Rebellion without conformity leads to thinkers who have great ideas but no output. Conformity without rebellion leads to complacency and no progress. As with everything else, one needs balance.
- drzaiusapelord 12y ago
  >But what about the rebelliousness that brought about the hyperlink, the mouse, and the iPhone? Are those really rebellions? TBL was a pretty milquetoast guy who built on top of a lot of things before him: TCP/IP, server OS, interconnected networks, and of course text-based predecessors to the web like Archie. He didn't wear all black and call everyone an idiot and magically produce something wonderful. He stood on the shoulders of giants and reached a little further.

kstenerud 12y ago

It's not so much the question as the pattern (either noticing a new pattern, or the break of an existing pattern). Everything operates in patterns, and some are more pleasing or more jarring than others. In either of these cases, it may spur you into investigating further, which may lead to an interesting discovery. Whether that discovery is useful or beautiful to other people or not is irrelevant.

sbensu 12y ago
> Everything operates in patterns very meta of you :)