The ideation cycle

If the assertion on the previous page is correct, the only way to gain new insights is on the foundation of old ones.  This is all very well, but where does one start?   What's the secret?
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The secret to effective ideation is a simple two step cycle:
  • articulate the known and
  • continually generate alternatives to it

An amazing thing happens when one defines the known.  A mental filter is set up automatically in one's brain that

quickly identifies anything that doesn't follow that pattern.  When we make sense of and articulate this new thing, the known is expanded to include it and the mental filter is updated accordingly.

We can accelerate the process by searching for those "things that don't fit" in a deliberate and proactive way.
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