Connecting Things

Creativity is just connecting things.
– Steve Jobs

When you sit down to create something – code, writing, a conversation – you draw from the history of similar things that you’ve seen. You do this both consciously – scouring your brain for similar ideas – and unconsciously, when the things that come to mind are mutations and variations on things you don’t even remember seeing elsewhere.

That’s just how creativity works – you put a bunch of things in the melting pot of your brain, you mix them up and combine them and let them simmer and warp, and you end up with something different enough from any of the ingredients that it’s worth talking about on its own. When it feels like good ideas jump out of our mind from nowhere, that’s because you’ve forgotten the sources or the idea draws from so many different sources that its origin isn’t obvious.

That’s exactly what you’re shooting for. In every field where you want to excel, you want to be so familiar with so many examples of that field that you can blend and combine them effortlessly to come up with something new, interesting, and effective for your situation.

This isn’t just true in writing and art, although it’s almost a cliche there. It’s true in conversation – you learn what’s funny or touching or persuasive in general by remembering a million examples of funny, touching, persuasive and combining and modifying them to fit the next thing you’re going to say. It’s true in fighting – only when you’ve seen a thousand responses to the same situation can you choose the perfect one for yours. It’s true in relationships – you know what will anger or delight the people around you by remembering similar things and their reactions in the past.

Most importantly, it’s true in your own life. You can only understand your own behavior when you’ve carefully watched yourself react to life. That’s the wisdom that comes with age, but it doesn’t come automatically – you have to make an honest effort to believe and remember what you’re seeing.

Knowing this, we can see the solution to many creative problems – we just have to see more (many, many more) examples. If there’s an area of your life where “new” ideas and creative solutions don’t come to you easily, it’s time to (consciously, carefully) absorb some more of the ideas that are already out there.

(This post inspired by this, this, this, this and I’m sure a hundred things I’ve forgotten.)