Ideas Machine 3: Connections
My ideas machine is broken, and I have been analysing what all the bits do; all the little bits.
The first stage is to put in a title, the second stage is to generate as many lists as possible associated with the input.
The next section of the machine, when in good working order, precludes the laborious task of making connections to come up with premises.
In two columns, I pick out twenty words from my lists, and then, as randomly as possible, I link them up. I look at each pairing in turn and try to come up with at least one premise.
Ideas are connections. One of my other quite good books about the obstacles to creative thing is called "A Whack on the side of the Head". One of the arguments is makes very clearly is that there is value in being vague; hence my requirement that titles are quite vague. But it also cites some significant connections that resulted in creative advances. Example: Gutenberg's act of combining the wine-press with the coin punch to devise printing with movable type.
The aim at this stage of the idea is not necessarily to come up with a cleveror funny premise; I will look for the dramatic or comedic potential later. The important thing at this stage is that the premise has some kind of potential for action or conflict; that is is a premise; a story.
For example, consider the pairing of these two words: Scientist and Clothes.
This is not really a premise:
"A cloning scientist is wearing two layers of clothes"
That would be a description of a drawing, but not a story. A good premise would usually involve some kind of decision or discovery or goal:
"A cloning scientist discovers that every-one of his colleagues is wearing two layers of clothes"
"A cloning scientist decides to duplicate all his clothes "
"A cloning scientist has to quickly put on a secondary layer of clothes before his/her experiment begins"
Some of the connections yeild many premises; some of them are a bit rubbish. I'll try to keep going until a few good ones leap out at me. In the next stage, I'll apply some more specific assessment criteria.
The first stage is to put in a title, the second stage is to generate as many lists as possible associated with the input.
The next section of the machine, when in good working order, precludes the laborious task of making connections to come up with premises.
In two columns, I pick out twenty words from my lists, and then, as randomly as possible, I link them up. I look at each pairing in turn and try to come up with at least one premise.
Ideas are connections. One of my other quite good books about the obstacles to creative thing is called "A Whack on the side of the Head". One of the arguments is makes very clearly is that there is value in being vague; hence my requirement that titles are quite vague. But it also cites some significant connections that resulted in creative advances. Example: Gutenberg's act of combining the wine-press with the coin punch to devise printing with movable type.
The aim at this stage of the idea is not necessarily to come up with a cleveror funny premise; I will look for the dramatic or comedic potential later. The important thing at this stage is that the premise has some kind of potential for action or conflict; that is is a premise; a story.
For example, consider the pairing of these two words: Scientist and Clothes.
This is not really a premise:
"A cloning scientist is wearing two layers of clothes"
That would be a description of a drawing, but not a story. A good premise would usually involve some kind of decision or discovery or goal:
"A cloning scientist discovers that every-one of his colleagues is wearing two layers of clothes"
"A cloning scientist decides to duplicate all his clothes "
"A cloning scientist has to quickly put on a secondary layer of clothes before his/her experiment begins"
Some of the connections yeild many premises; some of them are a bit rubbish. I'll try to keep going until a few good ones leap out at me. In the next stage, I'll apply some more specific assessment criteria.