# Idea Generation **Domain:** Creativity / Cognition / Innovation **Doc Type:** Concept Node **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition **Idea Generation is the formation of possible explanations, designs, combinations, or actions through association, recombination, observation, memory, and deliberate search.** ## Mechanism and Practice A small stimulus can activate distant knowledge and reveal a new pattern across previously separate concepts. Generation becomes innovation when possibilities are selected, tested, refined, and translated into usable form. ## Relationships [[wiki/Innovation|Innovation]] · [[wiki/Creativity|Creativity]] · [[wiki/Atomic Ideas|Atomic Ideas]] ## Simple Reminders, Quotations, and Thoughts > “Ideas can change everything. A single small idea can trigger a butterfly effect of connections in the mind. Suddenly, scattered pieces of knowledge light up and form something new.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *Identity Beyond Confidence and Social Agreement, Part 2 - Livestream (Apr 2016)* [[reminders/Innovation/Small Ideas Can Illuminate Whole Networks of Thought by Bryant McGill|Small Ideas Can Illuminate Whole Networks of Thought by Bryant McGill]]