Quiet for ideas

 The 'Aha!' or 'Eureka' moment is a common experience of sudden discovery, inspiration, or insight. Some research describes the Aha! effect as a memory advantage, but it is difficult to know in advance under what circumstances the Aha! moment happens. Yet there are ways to prepare the ground for fertile idea generation, as part of finding or improving a problem-solving strategy. For example, gaining as much knowledge and experience as possible, both general and specific, in that "things add up" over time. That is, compounded life experience has an impact on ideation. Aha! moments, then, are not as random as they seem, and can be helped by specific conditions. For example, ideas tend to pop up when our minds are quiet and our consciousness is at rest. Silence and solitude, then, are beneficial for nurturing ideation. Moreover, internal focus often goes hand in hand with mind wandering or daydreaming—another trigger for insights. Indeed insights may happen specifically when we are not actively making an effort to choose what to do. In contrast, negative emotions or being anxious create a lot of “noise” in the brain, drowning out the space for insight. 'Brain silencing' rather than ''brainstorming', or taking a break from thinking to unravel unconsicous thought about an issue may then actually increase the chances of Aha! moments.

Ruskin inspires

"From the most insignificant circumstance, — from a bird on a railing, a wooden bridge over a stream, a broken branch, a child in a pinafore, or a waggoner in a frock, does the artist derive amusement, improvement, and speculation.", wrote John Ruskin, the Victorian polymath.(1819-1900). For Ruskin, speculation about principles depended on observation of particularities. He thought visually revelling in stringing together a potentially endless series of associations on an ‘imaginary’ thread. His art was always purposeful, integral to his thinking on all subjects. He worked out and visualised his ideas through drawing. And so Ruskin inspires designers to explore, observe, and speculate (what if?) looking for how things (material culture) can be improved. Indeed from the most insignificant circumstance design ideas spring.