1/ Inspired by a recent thread by @WesternMastery, I’d like to take a moment to talk about combinative creativity.
2/ Combinative creativity is the idea that innovation and creation in general have less to do with innovating and more to do with building upon (as well as improving) the works that already exist.
3/ This is how advancement takes place. We have computers now because we had calculators before, and we had calculators before because we had the abacus before that, and it goes backwards until you get to early man first using pebbles to count.
4/ It’s too easy to become overwhelmed with creating something ground breaking or completely new. This should not be your main goal.
5/ Your main goal should be to take the ideas that already inspire you, work them into your own worldview, and hopefully expand on them.
6/ And, ironically enough, what you’ve created ends up being “new” because it has never been delivered through your particular lens, or viewed from your unique angle.
7/ Begin thinking of the world and all that is created from it as a prism, with each individual or group that works within that prism as beams of light. They’re all going to scatter in different directions, hit different surfaces, and reflect differently from one another.
8/ Work this into your process and it will make you a better thinker, doer, and creator.
