“This is how great intellectual breakthroughs usually happen in practice. It is rarely the isolated genius having a eureka moment alone in the lab. Nor is it merely a question of building on precedent, of standing on the shoulders of giants, in Newton's famous phrase. Great breakthroughs are closer to what happens in a flood plain: a dozen separate tributaries converge, and the rising waters lift the genius high enough that he or she can see around the conceptual obstructions of the age.” EnoughMomentsHappensAgeWaterPracticeBuildingGeniusIntellectualStandingShouldersLiftsPhrasesGiantsRisingDozenIsolatedFloodBreakthroughNewtonLabsPrecedentObstruction Book:The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World Source: The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World
“We are strangely biased, as individuals and media institutions, to focus on big sudden changes, whether good or bad - amazing breakthroughs, such as a new gadget that gets released, or catastrophic failures, like a plane crash.” BigsIndividualFocusMediaInstitutionsPlanesCrashBreakthroughBiasedGadgetsPlane CrashesSudden Change Author:Steven Johnson
“What you end up seeing when you look at history is that people who have been good at pushing the boundaries of possibility, and exploring those frontiers of good ideas and innovations, have rarely done it in moments of great inspiration. They don't just have a brilliant breakthrough idea out of nowhere and leap ahead of everyone else.” PeopleLooksHas BeensIdeasEndsDoneMomentsInspirationSeeingPossibilityInnovationBrilliantBoundariesPushingLeapGood IdeasExploringBreakthroughFrontiersIdeas And Innovation Author:Steven Johnson
