ThoseCrazyIdeas IsaacAsimov
TimeandagainIhavebeenasked(andI’msureotherswhohave,intheirtime,writtenscience fictionhavebeenasked fictionhavebeenaskedtoo):“Whe too):“Wheredoyouget redoyougetyourcrazyide yourcrazyideas?Over as?Overtheyears,my theyears,myanswers answers havesunkfromflatteredconfusiontoashrugandafeeblesmile.Actually,Idon’treallyknow,and thelackofknowledgedoesn’treallyworryme,either,aslongastheideaskeepcoming. Butt Butthen henso some meti time meago ago, ,ac acons onsult ultant antfi firm rmin inBos Boston ton, ,eng engage agedi din na asop sophis histic ticate ateds dspac pace-a e-age ge projectforthegovernment projectforthegovernment,gotint ,gotintouchwithme. ouchwithme. Whatt Whatthey heyn need eeded, ed,it itse seeme emed, d,to tobri bring ngthe their irpro projec jectt ttoa oas succ uccess essful fulco concl nclusi usion onwer were enov novel el suggestions,startingnewprinciples,conceptualbreakthroughs.Toputitintothenutshellofa well-turnedphrase, well-turnedphrase,theyneeded theyneeded“crazyideas.” “crazyideas.” Unfort Unfortuna unatel tely, y,the theyd ydidn idn’t ’tk know nowho howt wtog ogoa oabou bout tget gettin tingc gcraz razy yide ideas, as,bu buts tsome omeam among ongth them em hadreadmysciencefiction,sotheylookedmeupinthephonebookandcalledmetoask(in essence),“Dr.Asimov,where essence),“Dr.Asimov,wheredoyouget doyougetyourcrazyidea yourcrazyideas?” s?” Alas, Alas,I Isti still lldi didn’ dn’tk tknow now,b ,but utas asspe specul culati ation onis ismy mypro profes fessio sion, n,I Iam ampe perfe rfectl ctlyw ywil illin lingt gtot othin hink k aboutthematterandsh aboutthematterandsharemythoughts aremythoughtswithyou. withyou. Theq Theques uestio tion nbef before oret the hehou house, se,th then enis: is:H How owdoe doeso sone nego goabo about utcre creati ating ngor orinv invent enting ingor or dreaminguporstumblingoveranewandrevolutionaryscientificprinciple? Forin Forinsta stance nce-to -tot take akea ade deli liber berate ately lycho chosen sene exam xampl plee-how howd did idDar Darwin winc come ometo tothi think nkof of evolution? Tobeg Tobegin inwit with, h,in in183 1831, 1,whe when nCha Charle rlesD sDarw arwin inwas wast twen wentyty-two two, ,he hejoi joined nedt the hecre crewo wofa fash ship ip calledtheBeagle. calledthe Beagle.Thisshipwas Thisshipwasmakingafi makingafive-yearvoyage ve-yearvoyageaboutthewor abouttheworldtoexp ldtoexplorevarious lorevarious coastlinesandtoincreaseman’sgeographicalknowledge.Darwinwentalongasship’snaturalist, tostudytheformsoflifeinfor-offplaces. This Thish he edi did dex exte tens nsiv ivel ely yan and dwe well ll, ,an and dup upon ont the her ret etur urn nof oft the he BeagleDarwinwroteabook BeagleDarwinwroteabook abouthisexperiences abouthisexperiences(publishedi (publishedin1840)which n1840)whichmadehimfamous. madehimfamous.Inthe Inthecourseofthis courseofthisvoyage, voyage, numerousobservationsledhi numerousobservationsledhimtothecon mtotheconclusionthat clusionthatspeciesofl speciesoflivingcreatu ivingcreatureschangedan reschangedand d developedslowlyeachtime;thatnewspeciesdescendedfromold.This,initselfwasnotanew idea.AncientGreeks idea.AncientGreekshadhadglimmerin hadhadglimmeringsofevoluti gsofevolutionarynotions onarynotions.Manysci .Manyscientistsbefor entistsbeforeDarwin, eDarwin, includingDarwin’sown includingDarwin’sowngrandfather, grandfather,hadtheories hadtheoriesofevolution. ofevolution. Thet Thetrou rouble ble,h ,howe owever ver, ,was wast that hatn nos oscie cient ntist istco could ulde ever vere evol volve vean anexp expla lanat nation ionfo for rthe thew why hyof of evolution.AFrenchnaturalist,JeanBaptistedeLamarck,hadsuggestedintheearly1800sthatit cameaboutbyakindofconsciouseffortorinnerdrive.Atree-grazinganimal,attemptingtoreach leaves,stretcheditsneckovertheyearsandtransmittedalongergenerationuntilagiraffeinfull glorywasformed. Theon Theonly lytro troubl uble ewas wast that hatac acqui quired redc char haract acteri eristi stics csare aren not otinh inheri erited tedan andt dthis hiswa wase seasi asily ly proved.TheLamarckianexplanationdidnotcarryconviction. Charle CharlesD sDarw arwin in,h ,howe owever ver, ,had hadn noth othin ingb gbett etter erto tosug sugges gesta tafte fter rsev severa eral lyea years rsthi think nking ingab about out theproblem. Butin Butin17 1798, 98,e elev leven enye years arsb befo efore reDar Darwin win’s ’sbir birth, th,a anE nEngl nglish ishc cler lergyma gyman nnam named edTho Thomas mas RobertMalthus,hadwrittenabookentitled AnEssayonthePrincipleofPopulation. RobertMalthus,hadwrittenabookentitled AnEssayonthePrincipleofPopulation. Inthisbook Malthussuggestedthatthehumanpopulationalwaysincreasedfasterthanthefoodsupplyandthat thepopulationhadtobecutdownbyeitherstarvation,disease,orwar;thattheseevilswere thereforeunavoidable. In183 In1838D 8Darw arwin, in,st still illp puzz uzzlin lingo gover vert the hepro probl blem emof ofthe thede devel velopm opment entof ofs spec pecies ies, ,rea read d Malthus’sbook.Itishackneyedtosay“inaflash”butthat,apparently,ishowithappened.Ina flash,itwascleartoDarwin.Notonlyhumanbeingsincreasedfasterthanthefoodsupply;all speciesoflivingthingsdid.Ineverycase,thesurpluspopulationhadtobecutdownbystarvation, bypredators,orbydise bypredators,orbydisease.Nowno ase.Nownotwomembersof twomembersofanyspecies anyspeciesareexact areexactlyalike; lyalike;eachhassl eachhasslight ight
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individualvariationsfromthenorm.Acceptingthisfact,whichpartofthepopulationwascut down? WhyWhy-an and dth this isw was asD Dar arwi win’ n’s sbr brea eakt kthr hrou ough gh-t -tho hose sem mem embe bers rso of fth the esp spec ecie ies swh who owe were rel les ess s efficientintheraceforfood,lessadeptinfightingoffescapingfrompredators,lessequippedto resistdisease,wentdown. Thes Thesurv urvivo ivors, rs,ge gener nerati ation onaft after ergen genera eratio tion, n,wer wereb ebett etter erada adapte pted, d,on onthe thea aver verage age, ,to tothe their ir environment.Theslowchangestowardabetterfitwiththeenvironmentaccumulateduntilanew (andmoreadapted)species (andmoreadapted)specieshadreleased hadreleasedtheold. theold.Darwinthus Darwinthuspostulatedt postulatedthereasonf hereasonforevolution orevolution asbeingtheactionof naturalselection.Infact,thefulltitleofhisbookis naturalselection .Infact,thefulltitleofhisbookis OntheOriginofSpeciesby MeansofNaturalSelection,orthePreservationofFavoredRacesintheStruggleforLife. Wejustcall inTheOriginofSpecies inTheOriginofSpeciesandmissthefullflavorofwhatitwashedid. andmissthefullflavorofwhatitwashedid. Itwas Itwasin in18 1838 38tha that tDar Darwin winre recei ceived vedth this isfl flash ashan andi din n184 1844t 4that hath heb ebega eganw nwrit riting ingh his isboo book, k, butheworkedonforfourteenyearsgatheringevidencetobackuphisthesis.Hewasamethodical perfectionistandnoa perfectionistandnoamountofeviden mountofevidenceseemedto ceseemedtosatisfyhim. satisfyhim.Healwayswa Healwayswantedmore. ntedmore.His His friendsreadhispreliminarymanuscriptsandurgedhimtopublish.Inparticular,CharlesLyell (whosebookPrinciplesof (whosebookPrinciplesofGeology,publ Geology,publishedin18 ishedin1830-1833,first 30-1833,firstconvincedscie convincedscientistoft ntistofthegreat hegreat ageoftheearthandthusfirstshowedtherewastimefortheslowprocessofevolutiontotake place)warnedDarwin place)warnedDarwinthatsomeonewoul thatsomeonewouldbeathi dbeathimtothepu mtothepunch. nch. While WhileDar Darwin winwa wasw swork orking ing, ,ano anothe ther rand andy youn ounger gerE Engl nglish ishna natur tural alist ist,A ,Alfr lfred edRus Russel sell lWal Wallac lace, e, wastravelingindistantlands.Hetoofoundcopiousevidencetoshowthatevolutiontookplaceand hetoowantedtofindareason.HedidnotknowthatDarwinhadalreadysolvedtheproblem. Hespe Hespent ntthr three eeyea years rspuz puzzli zling, ng,an andt dthen heni in n185 1858, 8,he hetoo tooc came amea acro cross ssMal Malthu thus’s s’sb book ooka and nd readit.Iamembarrassedtohavebecomehackneyedagain,butinaflashhesawtheanswer. UnlikeDarwin,however,hedidnotsettledowntofourteenyearsofgatheringandarranging evidence. Instea Instead, d,he hegra grabbe bbedp dpen enand andp pap aper erand anda ato tonce ncewr wrote oteup uph his isthe theory ory. .He Hefin finish ished edthi this sin intwo two days. Natura Naturall lly, y,he hedid didn’t n’twa want ntto torus rushi hinto ntop prin rint twit withou hout thav having ingh his isnot notion ionsc schec hecked kedb by y competentcolleagues,soh competentcolleagues,sohedecidedto edecidedtosenditto sendittosomewell-k somewell-knownnatura nownnaturalist.To list.Towhom?Why,to whom?Why,to CharlesDarwin.Towhomelse? Ihave Ihaveof often tent trie riedt dtop opict icture ureDa Darwi rwin’ n’sf sfeel eelin ings gsas ashe herea readW dWal allac lace’ e’se sessa ssayw ywhic hich, h,he he afterwardstated,expressedmatersinalmosthisownwords.HewrotetoLyellthathehadbeen forestalled“withavengeance.” Darwin Darwinmi might ghte easi asily lyhav have eret retain ained edful full lcre credit dit. .He Hewa was swel well lkn known ownan andt dther here ewer were eman many y witnessestothefactthathehadbeenworkingontheprojectforadecadeandahalf.Darwin however,wasamanofthehighestintegrity.HemadenoattempttosuppressWallace.Onthe contrary,Hepassedontheessaytoothersandarrangedtohaveitpublishedalongwithasimilar essayofhisown.Theyearafter,Darwinpublishedhisbook. Nowth Nowther ereas eason onI Icho chose sethi this scas case ewas wast that hathe here rewe wehav havet etwo women menma makin kingo gone neof ofthe thegr great eatest est discoveriesinthehistoryof discoveriesinthehistoryofsciencein scienceindependently dependentlyandsimulta andsimultaneouslyand neouslyandunderpreci underpreciselythe selythe samestimulus.Doesthat samestimulus.Doesthatmeanthatan meanthatanyonecouldh yonecouldhaveworkedout aveworkedoutthetheory thetheoryandcombined andcombinedthat that withreadingMalthus? Well We ll, ,le let’ t’s sse see. e. He Here re’s ’sw whe here re the thesp spec ecul ulat atio ion nst star arts ts. . Tobeg Tobegin inwit with, h,bot both hDar Darwin winan andW dWall allace acew were eret thor horoug oughly hlygr groun ounded dedi in nnat natura ural lhis histor tory. y.Ea Each ch hadaccumulatedavastcollectionoffactsinthefieldinwhichtheyweretomaketheir breakthrough.Surelyt breakthrough.Surelythisissignif hisissignificant. icant. Nowev Nowevery eryma man nin inhis hisl life ifetim time ecol collec lects tsfac facts, ts,in indiv dividu idual alpi piece eceso sof fdat data, a,ite items msof ofinf inform ormati ation. on. Let’scallthese“bits”(astheydo,Ithink,ininformationtheory).The“bits”canbeofallvarieties: personalmemories,girls’ personalmemories,girls’phonenumber phonenumbers,baseball s,baseballplayers’ players’batting battingaverages,yeste averages,yesterday’sweathe rday’sweather, r, theatomicweightofthe theatomicweightofthechemicalele chemicalelements. ments.
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Natura Naturall lly, y,dif differ ferent entme men ngat gather herdi diffe fferen rentn tnumb umbers ersof ofdi diffe fferen rent tvar variet ieties iesof of“b “bits its.” .”A Aper person son whohascollectedalargernumberthanusualofthosevarietiesthatareheldtobeparticularly difficulttoobtain-say, difficulttoobtain-say,thoseinvol thoseinvolvingthesci vingthesciencesandt encesandtheliberal heliberalarts-is arts-isconsidered“educ considered“educated.” ated.” Therearetwogoodwaysin Therearetwogoodwaysinwhichthe whichthe“bits”can “bits”canbeaccumulated. beaccumulated.Thecommonway, Thecommonway,nowadays,is nowadays,is tofindpeoplewhoal tofindpeoplewhoalreadypossess readypossessmany“bits” many“bits”andhaveth andhavethemtransfer emtransferthose“bits” those“bits”toyourmind toyourmindin in goodorderandinpredigest goodorderandinpredigestedfashion. edfashion.Ourschools Ourschoolsspecialize specializeinthistr inthistransferof“ ansferof“bits”and bits”andthoseof thoseof uswhotakeadvantageof uswhotakeadvantageofthemreceive themreceivea“formale a“formaleducation.” ducation.” Thel Theless essc commo ommon nway wayi ist stoc ocoll ollect ect“b “bits its” ”wit with ham amini inimum mumamo amount unto ofl flive iveh help elp. .Th They eycan canb be e obtainedfrombooksoroutofpersonalexperience.Itthatcaseyouare“self-educated.”(Itoften happensthat“selfhappensthat“self-educated”is educated”isconfusedwith confusedwith“uneducated.” “uneducated.”Thisisan Thisisanerrorto errortobeavoided.) beavoided.) Inact Inactual ualp prac racti tice, ce,sc scien ientif tific icbre breakt akthro hrough ughsh shave aveb been eenin initi itiate atedb dbyt ythos hose ewho whow were eref form ormall ally y educated,asforinstance educated,asforinstancebyNicolaus byNicolausCopernicus, Copernicus,andbythose andbythosewhowerese whowereself-educated, lf-educated,asfor asfor instancebyMichaelFaraday. Tobesure,thestructur Tobesure,thestructureofscience eofsciencehasgrown hasgrownmorecomplexove morecomplexovertheyear rtheyearsandthe sandtheabsorption absorptionof of thenecessarynumberof“ thenecessarynumberof“bits”has bits”hasbecomemoreand becomemoreandmoredifficult moredifficultwithoutthe withouttheguidanceof guidanceof someonewhohasalreadyabsor someonewhohasalreadyabsorbedthem. bedthem.Theself-educ Theself-educatedgeniusi atedgeniusistherefore sthereforebecomingrare, becomingrare, thoughhehasstillnot thoughhehasstillnotvanished. vanished. Howeve However, r,wit withou hout tdra drawin winga gand nddis distin tincti ction onacc accord ording ingt tot othe heman manner nerin inwh which ich“b “bits its” ”hav have e beenaccumulated,let’ssetupthefirstcriterionforscientificcreativity: 1)Thecreativepersonmust 1)Thecreativepersonmustpossesas possesasmany“bits” many“bits”ofinformation ofinformationaspossible; aspossible;i.e.he i.e.hemustbe mustbe educated. Ofcourse,theaccumulationof“bits”isnotenoughinitself.Wehaveprobablyallmetpeoplewho areintenselyeducated,butwhomanagetobeabysmallystupid,nevertheless.Theyhavethe“bits” butthe“bits”justliethere. Butwhatisthereonecandowith“bits”? Well,onecancombinethemintogroupsoftwoormore.Everyonedoesthat;itistheprincipleof thestringonthefinger.Youtellyourselftoremember a(tobuybread)whenyouobserveb(the string)becauseb string)becausebissonoticeable. That, That,of ofcou course rse,i ,isa sac cons onscio cious usand anda arti rtific ficial ialco combi mbinat nation ionof of “bi “bits. ts.” ”It Itis ismy myf feel eeling ingt that hate ever very y mindis,moreorlessuncon mindis,moreorlessunconsciously,cont sciously,continuallymak inuallymakingall ingallsortsofcombina sortsofcombinationsandp tionsandpermutations ermutations of“bits,”probablyatrandom. Some Somemin minds dsdo dothi this swit withg hgrea reate terf rfaci acilit lityt ythan hanot other hers; s;som some emin minds dshav have egre greate aterc rcap apaci acity tyfor for dredgingthecombinationsout dredgingthecombinationsoutoftheun oftheunconsciousand consciousandbecomingconsciousl becomingconsciouslyawareof yawareofthem.This them.This resultsin“newideas,”innoveloutlooks.” Thea Theabil bility ityt toc ocomb ombin ine“ e“bit bits” s”wit withf hfaci acilit litya yand ndto togro growc wcons onscio ciousl usly yawa aware reof ofthe then new ew combinationsis,Iwouldliketosuggest,themeasureofwhatwecall“intelligence.”Inthisview,itis quitepossibletobeeducatedandyetnotintelligent. Obviou Obviously sly, ,the thec crea reativ tive esci scient entist istmu must stnot noton only lyhav have ehis his“ “bit bits” s”on onhan handb dbut uthe hemus mustb tbe eabl ablet eto o combinethemreadilyand combinethemreadilyandmoreorless moreorlessconsciously. consciously.Darwinnot Darwinnotonlyobserv onlyobserveddata,he eddata,healsomade alsomade deductions-cleverandfar deductions-cleverandfar-reachingdedu -reachingdeductionsfromwha ctionsfromwhatheobserve theobserved.Thatis, d.Thatis,hecombined hecombinedthe the “bits”ininterestin “bits”ininterestingwaysanddr gwaysanddrewimportant ewimportantconclusions. conclusions. So the second criterion of creativity is 2)The 2)Thecr creat eative ivep pers erson onmos mostb tbe eabl ablet etoc ocomb ombin ine“ e“bit bits” s”wit withf hfaci acilit litya yand ndrec recogn ognize izet the he combinationshahasformed; combinationshahasformed;i.e.hemust i.e.hemustbeintel beintelligent. ligent.Evenforming Evenformingandrecognizin andrecognizingnew gnew combinationsininsufficientinitself.Somecombinationsareimportantandsomearetrivial.How doyoutellwhicharewhich?Thereisnoquestionbutthatapersonthatcannottellthemapart mustlaborunderagreatdisadvantage.Asheplodsaftereachpossiblenewidea,helosestimeand hislifepassesuselessly.Thereisalsonoquestionbutthattherearepeoplewhosomehowhavethe giftofseeingtheconsequences“inaflash”asDarwinandWallacedid;offeelingwhattheendmust
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bewithoutconsciouslygoing bewithoutconsciouslygoingthroughevery througheverystepoft stepofthereasoning. hereasoning.This,Isuggest, This,Isuggest,isthen isthenaturewe aturewe callintuition.” Intuit Intuition ionp pla lays ysmor more eof ofa arol role ein insom some ebra branch nches esof ofsci scient entifi ific ckno knowle wledge dget than hanot other hers. s. Mathematics,forinstance,isadeductivescienceinwhich,oncecertainbasicprinciplesarelearned, alargenumberofitems alargenumberofitemsofinformation ofinformationbecome“obviou become“obvious.” s.” Tothe Tothet trul ruly yint intuit uitive ivemi mind, nd,h howe owever ver,t ,the hecomb combina inati tion onof ofthe thef few ewnec necess essary ary “b “bits its” ”is isat atonc once e extraordinarilyrichin extraordinarilyrichinconsequence consequences.Without s.Withouttoomuchtroubl toomuchtroubletheysee etheyseethemall, themall,includingsome includingsome 1 thathavenotbeenseenbytheirpedecessors. Itis Itisper perhap haps sfor forth this isrea reason sont that hatma mathe themat matics icsan andm dmath athema ematic tical alphy physic sics shav have esee seen nrep repeat eated ed casesoffirst-rankbr casesoffirst-rankbreak-throughsb eak-throughsbyyoungsters. yyoungsters.EvaristeGal EvaristeGaloisevolvedgroup oisevolvedgrouptheoryat theoryattwentytwentyone.IssacNewtonworkedoutcalculusattwenty-three.AlbertEinsteinpresentedthetheoryof relativityattwenty-six,andsoon. Intho Inthose sebra branch nches esof ofsci scienc ences eswhi which chare aremo more reind induct uctive ivea and ndreq requir uirel elarg arger ernum number bers sof of“b “bits its” ” tobeginwith,theaverageagethescientistofthescientistatthetimeofthebreakthroughis greater.Darwinwastwenty-nineatthetimeofhisflash,Wallacewasthirty-five. Butit Butita any nysci scienc ence, e,how howeve everi rindu nducti ctive, ve,i intu ntuiti ition onis isnec necess essary aryfo for rcre creati ativit vity. y.So: So: 3)Thecreativepersonmustbeabletosee,withaslittledelayaspossible,theconsequencesofthe newcombinationsof“bits”whichhehasformed;i.e.hemustbeintuitive. Butn Butnow owle let’s t’sl look ookat att this hisbu busin siness essof ofc comb ombini ining ng“bi “bits” ts”in ina alit little tlemo more redet detail ail. .“Bi “Bits” ts”ar area eat t varyingdistancesfromeachother.1Themorecloselyrelatedtwo“bits”are,themoreaptoneisto beremindedofonebytheotherandtomakethecombination.Consequently,anewideathatarises fromsuchacombinationismadequickly.Itisa“naturalconsequence”ofanolderidea,a “corollary.”It“obviousl “corollary.”It“obviouslyfollows.” yfollows.” Thec Thecomb ombina inatio tiono nof fle less ssrel relate ated d“b “bits its” ”res result ultsi sin nam amore orest start artli ling ngide idea; a;if iffo for rno nooth other errea reason son thanthatittakeslongerforsuchacombinationtobemade,sothatthenewideaisthereforeless "“obvious."”Forascientificbreakthroughofthefirstrank,theremustbeacombinationof“bits”so widelyspacedthatthe widelyspacedthattherandomchance randomchanceofthecombina ofthecombinationbeing tionbeingmadeissmall madeissmallindeed. indeed.(Otherwise, (Otherwise, itwillbemadequicklyandbeconsideredbutacorollaryofsomepreviousidea,whichwillthenbe, consideredthe“breakthrough.”) Butt Butthen hen, ,it itcan cane easi asily lyhap happen pent that hatt two wo“bi “bits” ts”su suffi fficie cientl ntly ywid widel elys yspa paced cedt tom omake akea a breakthroughbytheircombinationarenotpresentinthesamemind.NeitherDarwinnorWallace, foralltheireducation,intelligence,andintuition,possessedthekey“bits”necessarytoworkoutthe theoryofevolutionbynaturalselection.Those“bits”werelyinginMalthus’sbook,andboth DarwinandWallacehadtofindthemthere. Todo Todothi this, s,how howeve ever, r,the theyh yhad adto torea read, d,und unders erstan tand, d,and anda appr ppreci eciate atet the heboo book. k.In Ins shor hort, t,the they y hadtobereadytoincorporateotherpeople’s“bits”andtreatthemwithalltheeasewithwhich theytreatedtheirown. Itwou Itwould ldham hamper percr creat eativi ivity tyin inoth other erwor words, ds,to toe emph mphasi asize zeint inten ensit sityo yof fedu educat cation ionat att the he expenseofbroadness.Itisbadenoughtolimitthenatureofthe“bits”tothepointwherethe necessarytwowouldnotbeinthesamemind.Itwouldbefataltomoldamindtothepointwhere itwasincapableofaccepting“foreignbits.” Ith Ithin ink kwe weo oug ught htt to ore revi vise set the hef fir irst stc cri rite teri rion ono of fcr crea eati tivi vity ty, ,th then ent to ore read ad: : 1)Thecreativepersonmustpossessasmany“bits”aspossible,fallingintoaswideavarietyof typesaspossible;i.e typesaspossible;i.e.hemustb .hemustbebroadlyedu ebroadlyeducated. cated. Athetotalamountof Athetotalamountof"bits"to "bits"tobeaccumulate beaccumulatedincreases dincreaseswiththeadva withtheadvanceofscien nceofscience,itis ce,itisbecoming becoming moreandmoredifficultto moreandmoredifficulttogatherenough gatherenough“bits”in “bits”inawideen awideenougharea. ougharea.Therefore;th Therefore;thepractice epracticeof of
1TheSwissmathematician,LeonardEuler,saidthattothetruemathematician,itisatonceobviousthat eπ
1
=
−1 .
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“brain-busting”iscomingintopopularity;thenotionofcollectingthinkersintogroupsandhoping thattheywillcross-fertilizeoneanotherintostartingnewbreakthroughs. Under Underwha what tcir circum cumsta stance ncesc scoul ould dthi thisc sconc onceiv eivabl ablyw ywork ork? ?(A (Afte fter rall all, ,any anythi thing ngtha that twil will l stimulatecreativityisof stimulatecreativityisoffirstimpor firstimportancetohuman tancetohumanity.) ity.) Well, Well,t tob obegi egin nwit with, h,a agro group upof ofpeo peopl ple ewil will lhav have emor more“ e“bit bits” s”on onhan handt dthan hana any nymemb member erof ofthe the groupsinglysinceeach groupsinglysinceeachmanislik manislikelytohave elytohavesome“bits” some“bits”theothers theothersdonotposse donotpossess. ss. Howeve However, r,the thei incr ncreas easei ein n“bi “bits” ts”is isn not otin indir direct ectp prop roport ortion ionto tot the henum number berof ofme men, n,bec becaus ause e thereisboundtobeconsiderableoverlapping.Asthegroupincreases,thesmallerandsmaller additionofcompletelyn additionofcompletelynew“bits” ew“bits”introducedby introducedbyeachadditiona eachadditionalmemberis lmemberisquicklyoutw quicklyoutweighedby eighedby theaddedtensionsinvolvedingreaternumbers;thelongerwaittospeak,thegreaterlikelihoodof beinginterrupted,andsoon.Itismy(intuitive)guessthatfiveisaslargeasanumberasonecan standinsuchaconference. Nowof Nowoft the hethr three eecri crite teria riame menti ntione oneds dsof ofar, ar,I If feel eel(i (intu ntuiti itivel vely) y)tha that tint intuit uition ioni ist sthe hele least ast common.Itismorethanthatnonewillbeintelligentofnoneeducated.Ifnoindividualinthegroup isintuitivethegroupasawholewillnotbeintuitive.Youcannotaddnot-intuitionandform intuition. Ifone Ifonei in nthe thegr group oupis isin intui tuitiv tive, e,he heis isal almost mostce certa rtain into tobe beint intell ellige igent ntan ande deduc ducate ateda dasw swell ell, ,or or hewouldnothavebeenaskedtojointhegroupinthefirstplace.Inshort,forabrain-bustinggroup tobecreative,itmustbequitesmallanditmustpossessatleastonecreativeindividual.Butinthat case,doesthatoneindividualneedthegroup?Well,I’llgetbacktothatlater. Whydi WhydidD dDarw arwin inwor workf kfour ourtee teen nyea years rsgat gather hering inge evid videnc encef efoe oea athe theory oryhe hehi himse mself lfmus must thav have e beenconvincedwascorrectfromthebeginning?WhydidWallacesendhismanuscripttoDarwin firstinsteadofofferingitforpublicationatonce? Tome Tomeit itsee seems mstha that tthe they ymus musth thave avere reali alized zedth that atany anyn new ewide idea ais ismet metb byr yresi esista stance ncef from romt the he generalpopulationwho,afterall,isnotcreative.Themoreradicaltheidea,thegreaterthedislike andtrustitarouses.Thedislikeanddistrustarousedbyafirst-classbreakthrougharesogreatthat theauthormustbeprep theauthormustbepreparedforunp aredforunpleasantcon leasantconsequences(somet sequences(sometimesforexp imesforexpulsionfromt ulsionfromthe he respectofthescienti respectofthescientificcommunity;somet ficcommunity;sometimes,insome imes,insomesocieties,for societies,fordeath). death). Darwin Darwinw was astry trying ingt tog ogath ather eren enoug oughe hevid viden ence ceto topr prote otect cthim himsel self fby bycon convin vincin cingo gothe thers rs throughasheerfloodofr throughasheerfloodofreasoning.W easoning.Wallacewan allacewantedtohave tedtohaveDarwinon Darwinonhissidebef hissidebeforeproceedin oreproceeding. g. Ittak Ittakes escou courag raget etoa oanno nnounc unce ethe ther resu esults ltsof ofyo your urcre creati ativit vity. y.Th Theg egrea reate tert rthe hecre creati ativit vity, y,the the greaterthenecessarycourageinmushmorethandirectproportion.Afterall,considerthatthe moreprofoundthebreakthr moreprofoundthebreakthrough,themore ough,themoresolidifiedthe solidifiedthepreviousop previousopinions;the inions;themore“against more“against reason”thenewdiscovery reason”thenewdiscoveryseems;themore seems;themoreagainstch againstcherishedauthori erishedauthority. ty. Usual Usually lya aman manwh whop oposs ossess esses eseno enough ughco coura urage geto tobe beas ascie cienti ntific ficge geni nius ussee seems msodd odd. .Af After tera all ll, , amanwhohassufficientcourageorirreverencetoflyinthefaceofreasonorauthoritymustbe odd,ifyoudefine“odd”as“beingnotlikemostpeople.”Andifheiscourageousandirreverentin suchacolossallybigthing,hewillcertainlybecourageousandirreverentinmanysmallthingsso thatbeingoddinoneway,heisapttobeoddinothers.Inshort,hewillseemtothenon-creative, conformingpeopleabout conformingpeopleabouthimtobea himtobea“crackpot”). “crackpot”). So we have the fourth criterion: 4) Thecreativepersonmust Thecreativepersonmustpossesscourage possesscourage(andtothe (andtothegeneral generalpublicmay, publicmay,in in consequence,seemacrackpot). Asithappens,itisthecrackpotteryisoftenmostnoticeableaboutthecreativeindividual.The eccentricandabsent-min eccentricandabsent-mindedprofessor dedprofessorisastock isastockcharacterin characterinfiction; fiction;andthep andthephrase“mad hrase“mad scientist”:isalmostacliché.(AndbeitnotedthatIanneveraskedwhereIgetmyinterestingof effectiveofcleverorf effectiveofcleverorfascinatingi ascinatingideas.Ia deas.Iaminvariably minvariablyaskedwhere askedwhereIgetmycra Igetmycrazyideas.) zyideas.) Ofcou Of course rse,i ,it tdoe doesn snot otfol follow lowth that atbec becaus auset ethe hecre creati ative vein indiv dividu idual alis isusu usuall ally yac acrac rackp kpot, ot,t that hat anycrackpotisautomaticallyanunrecognizedgenius.Thechanceislowindeed,andfailureto recognizethatthepropositioncannotbesoreversedisthecauseofagreatdealoftrouble.
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Then, Then,sin since ceI Ibel believ ieve etha that tcomb combina inatio tions nsof of“b “bits its”t ”take akep pla lace cequi quite teat atran random domin inthe the unconsciousmind,itfollow unconsciousmind,itfollowsthatcrit sthatcriteriaIhave eriaIhavementionedi mentionedinsuperabun nsuperabundanceandy danceandyetmay etmay supposeDarwinhadneverreadMalthus.Wouldheeverhavethoughtofnaturalselection?What madehimpickupthecopy?Whatifsomeonehadcomeinatacrucialtimeandinterruptedhim? Sothereisafifthcriterion,whichIamatalosstophraseinanyotherwaythanthis: 5) Acreativepersonmustb Acreativepersonmustbelucky. elucky. Tosum Tosummar marize ize: :A Acre creati ative vepe perso rson nmus must tbe be1) 1)br broad oadly lyedu educat cated, ed,2 2)i )int ntell ellige igent, nt,3) 3)i intu ntuiti itive, ve,4) 4) courageous,and5)lucky. How, How,the then, n,doe doeso sone nego goabo about utenc encour ouragi aging ngsci scien entif tific iccre creati ativit vity? y?F For ornow now, ,mor moret ethan hanev ever er beforeinman’shistory,wemust,andtheneedwillgrowconstantlyinthefuture, Only, Only,it itsee seems msto tome, me,by byi incr ncreas easing ingth thei einci nciden dence ceof ofthe theva vario rious uscri criter teria iaamo among ngthe thege gener neral al population. Ofthe Of thefi five vecri crite teria ria,n ,numb umber erfiv five( e(lu luck) ck)i iso sout utof ofour ourha hands nds. .We Weca can nonl only yhop hope; e;al altho though ughwe we mustrememberLouisPasteur’s mustrememberLouisPasteur’sfamousstatement famousstatementthat“Luck that“Luckfavorsthe favorstheprepared preparedmind.” mind.” Presumablyifwehaveen Presumablyifwehaveenoughofthef oughofthefourothercri ourothercriteria,wes teria,weshallfind hallfindenoughofnu enoughofnumberfiveas mberfiveas well. Criter Criterion ion1 1(br (broad oaded educa ucatio tion) n)is isin inthe theha hand ndof ofour oursc schoo hools lssys system tem. .Man Manye yeduc ducato ators rsare are workinghardtofindwaysofincreasingthequalityofeducationamongthepublic.Theyshouldbe encouragedtocontinuetodoso. Criter Criterion ion2 2(in (intel telli ligen gence) ce)an and3 d3( (int intuit uition ion)a )are reinb inborn ornan andt dthei heir rinc incide idence nceca cann nnot otbe be increasedintheordinaryway.However,theycanbemoreefficientlyrecognizedandutilized.I wouldliketoseemethodsdevisedforspottingtheintelligentandtheintuitive(particularlythe latter)earlyinlifeandtreatingthemwithspecialcare.Thistoo,educatorsareconcernedwith. Tome Tometho though ugh, ,it itsee seems mstha that tit itis iscri criter terion ion4 4(co (coura urage) ge)t that hatre recei ceives vesth thel eleas east tcon concer cern, n,an andi dis s justtheonewemaymosteasilybeabletohandle.Perhapsitisdifficulttomakeapersonmore courageousthanheis,butthatisnotnecessary.Itwouldbeequallyeffectivetomakeitsufficientto belesscourageous;toadop belesscourageous;toadoptanatt tanattitudethat itudethatcreativityis creativityisapermissibl apermissibleactivity. eactivity. Does Doesthi thism smean eanch chan angin gings gsoci ociety etyof ofch chan angin gingh ghuma uman nna natur ture? e?I Id don’ on’t tthi think nkso. so. I Ithi think nkthe there re arewaysofachievingtheendthatdonotinvolvemassivechangeinanything,anditisherethat brain-bustinghasits brain-bustinghasitsgreatestchan greatestchanceofsignif ceofsignificance. icance. Suppos Supposew eweh ehave avea agr group oupof off five ivet that hati incl nclude udes sone onecr creat eative ivein indiv dividu idual al. .Let Let’s ’sask aska agai gain nwha what t thatindividualcanreceivefromthenon-creativefour? The Thefi firs rst tan answ swer er tom tome ese seem ems sto tob be eju just stt thi his: s:P Per ermi miss ssio ion! n! They Theym mus ust tpe perm rmit ith him imt to ocr crea eate te. .Th They eym mus ust tte tell llh him imt to ogo goa ahe head ada and ndb be ea acr crac ackp kpot ot..2 Howi Howist sthis hisp perm ermiss ission iont tob obeg egran ranted ted? ?Can Canfo four uress essent ential ially lynon non-cr -creat eative ivep peop eople lefin findi dit twit within hin themselvestograntsuchpermission?Cantheonecreativepersonfinditwithinhimselftoaccept it? Idon’ Idon’t tkno know. w.Her Here, e,it itsee seems msto tome, me,is isw wher here ewe wenee neede dexpe xperim riment entati ation onan andp dperh erhaps apsa akin kindo dof f creativebreakthroughabout creativebreakthroughaboutcreativity. creativity.Oncewel Oncewelearnenough earnenoughaboutthew aboutthewholematter, holematter,whoknowswhoknowsImayevenfindoutwhe ImayevenfindoutwhereIget reIgetthosecrazyi thosecrazyideas. deas.
2Alwayswiththeprovisionofcourse,thatthecrackpotcreationthatresultssurvivesthetestofhard
inspection.Thoughmanyoftheproductsofgeniusseemcrackpotatfirst,veryfewofthecreationsthatseem crackpotturnoutafterall,tobeproductsofgenius.
