The Combinations Rule: underlines creative thought

Stan's right: this is the number one rule for any creative venture, including some of the best teaching that I ever received (and that I've seen practiced through the profession's lens). The best teachers always seemed to know a lot about stuff that had nothing to do with the 'subject' in hand. They always knew the names of plants, birds, trees, obscure books and films.

It reminds me of something I read, maybe in The Art of Looking Sideways, that to be interesting you have to be interested. In everything.

Comments

[Tessy]

It was also one of Paul Arden's big points too.

http://thrivingtoo.typepad.com/thriving_too/2008/04/paul-arden.html

Why technology is so important is that with the explosion in knowledge we need each other more to make those unique combinations. Our networks and personal ability to collaborate effectively have become vital.

What better partner than one that is interested.

[Alan Coady]

I agree completely, Ewan. Certainly in the world of teaching, it's would be difficult to come up with useful analogies if you knew only your own subject.

[Stephen Downes]

The problem is, the term 'combining' is too vague. It doesn't actually tell you what it is that you;re trying to do.

That's why, for example, you will rarely see the verb 'combine' used in a recipe. You will instead see 'mix', 'stir in', 'sift with', 'add gradually', and even 'put on top', 'coat', 'place beside' and 'garnish'.

Also implicit in this advice is the manner of selecting what to combine. Mostly, simply attaching things willy-nilly serves no useful purpose. Combining a photo from one domain with text from another domain (by 'combine' I mean 'placing the photo on the same page as the text', and not 'mixing them together') is useful if the photo illustrates a pattern implicit in the text - but there needs to actually be such a pattern for the combination to be meaningful.

[Meryn Stol]

"'mix', 'stir in', 'sift with', 'add gradually', and even 'put on top', 'coat', 'place beside' and 'garnish'."

Time for a "design patterns" for creative thinking?