Andy's Blog

Foo Camp: How to have new ideas

Paul Graham

Tired of talking about startup, practically forgotten about programming languages. Decided to talk about ideas.

A lot of randomness and ephiphay in ideas. But there is stuff you can do to put yourself in position to "receive" the new ideas.

Machinery for having ideas completely independent from wether or not they are good. Can get idea machine running, generating lots and lots of ideas, then point it at something useful, and get good ideas.

Paul is a big passion skeptic - notion that you need to be passionate in order to have new ideas is going around. But you can have ideas about something even if you are bored.

Paul Graham talking out in the tent at Foo Camp

List of way to have good ideas

1. Work on hard problems - value is difficulty of problem multiplied by brilliance of solution. If problem is pointless, then doesn't matter how good the idea is.
   
2. Understand the domain of stuff that you're working on really, really well. You can sort of envision the answer, and then work out how to get there.
   
3. Delight in naughtiness - good idea that are obvious, people have already done. Sweet spot is good ideas that most people think are bad ideas. Lisp is an example - nobody else is hacking there, so Paul has all the times he needs in order to work. And there is plenty of room to innovate here, and come up with new ideas. Just because it isn't popular, doesn't mean that there isn't anything useful there.

   Paul was constantly getting in trouble when young, still happening but to a different degree. Going to have to learn to lead a double life. Contrarian inclinations are what leads you into these place where other people aren't, to mine out the good ideas.
   

4. You have to be happy to have good ideas.
   
5. Being bored can be conducive to having good ideas - in order to fight off boredom, will come up with new ideas.
   
6. If there is stuff you need to protect, you can't have good ideas. Because you won't have a wide open space within which to innovate. A reason why outsiders have an advantage (having power is bad).
   
7. Public performance - no fear so great as fear of looking a fool in front of your peers.
   
8. Good ideas in the shower, after a plane has taken off, while walking (don't need to pay attention). Think it's because you need to let your mind relax for a little bit, after a period of intense work. Idea comes on the back stroke - can't concentrate too hard.
   
9. Think about how not to have good ideas. Take and idea, and flip it over. The opposite of the opposite is a good idea.
   

Posted by andyr at June 23, 2007 1:58 PM