Connections

Connections are so important -- more important than most people realize. I've read that many breakthroughs in technology, engineering, medicine, and other fields are the result of someone putting two seemingly unrelated things together.

Steve Johnson who wrote, Where Good Ideas Come From, coined a phrase -- Adjacent Possible. Adjacent Possible explores the role of "spare part" ideas. Ideas that never really got off the ground but weren't forgotten. The "spare part" ideas were then resurrected and combined with other "spare part" ideas to form something completely new and innovative.

I'd never heard that term before but I think it's right on target. I think the reason I did as well as I did when I had a day job was because I had a knack for making connections that were obvious to me, but were stealthy to others.

The reason that Apple is where it is today is because Steve Jobs was a master at connecting unrelated things.

I think as writers, it's smart to broaden our understanding of things unrelated to writing. 

If we write about sports, I think studying marketing, or the Japanese art of origami might be beneficial. If we write about gardening, it might be helpful to study art history, or sociology.

Any time we broaden our knowledge of the world around us, I think it puts us in a better position to make intuitive connections that can take our craft to the next level.

Hmmmmm. After reading this, I realized it's gotten pretty deep for a Saturday night. 

Since my team won tonight, I think I'm going to connect up with a nice glass of Merlot and call it a night.