Don't run with your first idea!
[8 May 2006 - The Jakarta Post] When we look for ideas, the first batch of ideas are the most common ones. This is because the way our brain works is rather similar to a computer. The latest documents we have worked on in a computer are retrievable through "my recent documents". Similarly, our brains can easily retrieve the information we most often use -- things that are most relevant in our daily lives in order to function efficiently. We need to purge these ideas to get beyond them and access those ideas that are more original. Alex Osborn, the originator of brainstorming and father of creative problem solving, reveals that of so many ideas generated, the second half of the output, in comparison with the first half, provided 78 percent more good ideas. ... So what it means is that the more ideas we come up with, the more likely we are of getting better quality ideas. More