The never-ending search for fresh ideas

Jessica Griggs, careers editor

TO HARNESS creativity, many people suggest carrying around a notebook to jot down observations and ideas - no matter how silly.

In The Aha! Moment, chemist David Jones advocates this strategy among others. He should know, having spent years creating madcap schemes for his alter ego Daedalus - a fictional inventor whose not-quite-feasible notions first appeared in New Scientist in the 1960s.

This book is Jones's personal take on creativity. He hypothesises that the aha! moment occurs when an idea from our unconscious, which he dubs the Random Ideas Generator (RIG), makes it past the Censor of our subconscious to reach our Observer-Reasoner - a facet of the conscious mind that evaluates the ideas sent up from downstairs.

Of the ideas that make it through, Jones estimates only 20 per cent will be any good. To illustrate the point, he includes an array of examples from his own back catalogue, as well as those from scientists, poets and artists grappling to liberate half-formed gems from their unconscious.

His concept of the creative mechanism is intriguing and at times endearing, but some might find it frustrating that he doesn't include any scientific explanation to back up the hypothesis. Those not well versed in the science of creativity may wonder if this is all a product of an overactive RIG.

Nonetheless, the book provides a fascinating insight into one man's never-ending search for ideas. If at times it feels like listening to a grandfather lost in a reverie of his life's work, it's the kind of grandfather I wish I had.

Book Information
The Aha! Moment
by David Jones
Published by: Johns Hopkins University Press
?13/$25

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/1d075a6c/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cculturelab0C20A120C0A20Cthe0Enever0Eending0Esearch0Efor0Efresh0Eideas0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

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