remember ever since I was a kid two
things have been said to me over and
over number one Laurie where do you get
all of your ideas number two Laurie what
are you doing now hearing question one
number one over and over again could
easily give a person a swell head but
question number two keeps me in check
because it gets asked just as often who
we kidding it gets asked way more often
the thing is if people understood how
ideas actually happened they wouldn’t
ask either of these questions because
they would understand that it’s nearly
impossible to explain to somebody where
a specific idea came from and that an
idea in progress often looks to another
person like a big mess but most people
don’t know where ideas come from and I
think it’s all this guy’s fault maybe
not him personally but definitely the
light bulb above his head we all
recognize that right it’s the universal
symbol for a bright idea a brainstorm a
spark of creativity a flash of
inspiration those are some enticing
metaphors but none of them describes
what an idea actually is an idea is a
process not an isolated aha moment it
doesn’t matter though we’re seduced by
the image of the light bulb and the
sudden brilliance it represents and
that’s why people ask me
where I get my ideas from they want to
hear about that moment lightning struck
so they can live vicariously it’s also
why people are disappointed when they
find me in the middle of working out an
idea they don’t understand why it
appears to be so unbrella a’n’t let me
give you an example one night my husband
and I were watching Game of Thrones soon
the show was actually over and we were
waiting for the previews for next week’s
show as I zoned out watching the credits
the crisp white type started to kind of
blur into patterns there was a different
layout on every screen I loved the way
they looked and i decided i was going to
paint them with watercolors so what do
or does it give you a kind of
uncomfortable and certain feeling don’t
be embarrassed this is the point when
people say mari what are you doing so
instead of telling you more about my
idea let me show you some of the
now how do you feel
thank you my hope was that you would
feel better by letting you see a little
bit of my process I want to show you
that ideas are often introduced into the
world half-baked more curiosity than
insight the lesson is to learn to
recognize ideas before they’re fully
formed so that you can help shape them
into something great ideas are a process
not a moment even the light bulb wasn’t
a light bulb moment in 1802 a man you’ve
never heard of Humphry Davy connected a
battery to a piece of platinum and made
it glow and without that there would be
no light bulb 40 years later Warren de
la roux enclosed that platinum in a
vacuum tube and without that there would
be no light bulb 10 years after that
Joseph Swan swapped out the platinum for
paper inexpensive carbonized paper and
without that there would be no light
bulb finally in 1880 Thomas Edison and
his team carbonized more than 6,000
different materials just to try and
figure out which material would burn the
longest and without that there would be
no light bulb but it didn’t stop there
Edison’s bulb was improved and that one
was improved and that one was improved
the light bulb has undergone constant
innovation for over 200 years and every
new design is based on the light bulb
before it none of them was the result of
an isolated light bulb moment so here’s
my idea I think it’s time to retire the
light bulb is the symbol for a good idea
the kaleidoscope as you probably know a
kaleidoscope is a cylinder with a bunch
of pieces of colored glass and some
mirrors inside every time you twist it
the colored glass tumbles into a new
pattern that never existed before ideas
like the light bulb are like those
patterns they’re a new combination of
already existing elements a new
combination of already existing elements
if you previously believed that ideas
had to come from nowhere this should
come as seriously good news because
building on someone else’s idea sounds a
lot easier than creating something from
scratch doesn’t it almost as easy is
twisting a kaleidoscope and it is
because just like gravity pulls those
colored pieces of glass together ideas
want to connect with other ideas to
reinvent themselves and move in new
directions and ideas or the building
blocks for ideas are already inside you
just like the colored glass is already
inside the kaleidoscope they’re stored
in a part of your brain called the
default mode network or more poetically
while you’re busy living your life the
imagination network is hard at work
assessing whether the experiences and
observations you encounter are worth
remembering if they are they get stored
away if they aren’t they get discarded
and this explains something that I will
bet every single one of you has wondered
about before have you ever complained
about all the unnecessary things taking
up valuable brain space things like the
lyrics to songs that were popular when
you were in middle school or some
childhood friends phone number 704 3643
258 why do I remember that because my
brain the imagination network has
decided it’s worth remembering here’s an
example the first apartment I lived in
in New York City almost 25 years ago my
hey you can see where this is going I
lived in for more apartments after that
and I have no idea what any of those
landlords names are but my brain decided
I needed to remember Tony Casa Grande
and that’s obviously because his name
was Tony Casa Grande it’s like I was
living in the sopranos seven years
before the sopranos even began the
imagination network takes these memories
and stores them in a database for future
recall just like you might save
something in real life empty jars or
computer cables or an old jean jacket
just because someday you might find a
use for it now here’s the cool part
guess what else activates the
imagination network daydreaming when
you’re doing something mindless like
taking a shower or washing dishes or
exercising have you ever noticed that
ideas seem to bubble up more often than
usual you may think your brain is turned
your brain is busy sorting through that
database trying to find something that
relates to whatever problem you’ve been
chewing on at the moment taking a break
or daydreaming gives your brain the
opportunity to synthesize the outside
world with your inner stream of
consciousness the outside world and your
inner stream of consciousness are those
already existing elements and this is
where they get combined not in the
spontaneous flip of a light switch but
in the very deliberate turning and
twisting of a kaleidoscope
this is where ideas come from so what am
I telling you I’m telling you to
daydream I’m telling you to let your
mind wander I’m telling you that ideas
don’t spring from nowhere they’re
already inside you in your kaleidoscope
I’m telling you that you are an idea
person just like this guy thank you [Applause]
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