My ideas live in a lake, not a filing cabinet

When I think of ideas, they don’t feel like index cards in a filing cabinet, they feel like objects bobbing in and out of sight on a lake.

Over the years, I have found the best way to liberate ideas from books and their sources is to create a standalone note for each idea (an atomic note). The idea is always primary, the source is secondary.

I deeply appreciate reading other people’s writing - but I learnt long ago to always read it through my own eyes - what do I think, what do I want? I don’t see books as a thing to revere and review as a whole, rather I see them as collections of ideas to explore, plunder and extend. The book is the containing context, but the idea has its own, reusable quality.

My whole knowledge base is built around this principle: liberating ideas. For me, combining existing ideas into something new is the essence of creativity. This is where I struggle with the arguments against AI training on copyrighted material. Whilst I deeply respect the rights of the artist, I also feel life is full of merging together inspiration from sources, changing and adapting them into something new.

Combining existing ideas into something new is the essence of creativity.

AI is doing the same.

I have tried many different methods to organise my ideas - but in recent years I’ve settled on a messy lake. Gone are the structured categories and topics - ideas are often far too fluid and evolve over time. I have created an ideas lake and let thoughts flow around a little.

J.K. Rowling talks about her own ideas lake - where things can sometimes spring almost fully formed. But she also talks about her workshop (or shed) - where these ideas need to be shaped and developed. I love this metaphor: it helps to demonstrate that having a good idea is only half the journey.

Some of the greatest insights come from connecting seemingly disconnected dots. This is what most mental models are: principles from different disciplines which can be reapplied to a wider context. Richard Feynman was the master of finding unexpected connections.

It is also why I like the metaphor of an ideas lake: letting ideas bob around and bump up against each other - you never know what combinations could form.