Where Good Ideas Come From (TED Talk – Steven Johnson)
People often credit their ideas to individual “Eureka!” moments. But Steven Johnson shows how history tells a different story. His fascinating tour takes us from the “liquid networks” of London’s coffee houses to Charles Darwin’s long, slow hunch to today’s high-velocity web.
I love this video because it confirms my belief that ideas worth spreading may be the mission of TED and TEDx, yet ideas worth implementing (and putting into action) are my personal mission and passion! Steven Johnson examines the input stage to what has become the title of my signature speech, “The Science of Transforming Ideas to Action”.
Some points I note as “keepers” from this presentation:
- Our ideas are liquid networks. They rarely come immediately from “eureka moments” or “lightbulb experiences” (even though we typically think they do).
- An idea as a network means that from a new network of neurons – all firing various “sparks of insight” – comes that one idea that gels.
- While the image of The Thinker and other solitary monuments of thought typically represent new ideas, the more appropriate places for good ideas to come together are coffeehouses.
- Coffeehouses are “conjugal spaces for ideas”.
- Idea MindTeams(c) – the platform co-founded by Sylvia Henderson and Josh Silverstone (see IdeaMindTeam.com) are liquid networks!
- Research: Kevin Dunbar went to science labs around the world to record how people worked and conversed throughout their work days. Upon examining his recordings he realized that important ideas came about when people communicated and collaborated together rather than worked in solitary environs.
- The “slow hunch” is when ideas linger in the back of a person’s mind until the “right opportunity” – tools, people, resources, & circumstances come about to create the perfect environment to support implementing the idea. That idea may have been lingering for days, weeks, years, or decades until the network of resources comes into play to coalesce into an idea to implement.
This talk was presented at an official TED conference.
NOTES
Steven Johnson’s Bio:
https://www.ted.com/speakers/steven_johnson
Direct link to this video on TED.com is https://www.ted.com/talks/steven_johnson_where_good_ideas_come_from