August 6, 2010 at 9:46 am
I'll have to tell my wife... "See, the guys at SQLServerCentral.com said 'material relations' will help me solve this problem I'm having with my project at work" 😛
I find that sleeping on it works well for me, as well as prayer, that has come through more than a few times.
But what I find works the most often is trying to explain the whole picture to a non-technical person. I find that having to translate to non technical terms and using analogies also causes me to reverse translate and dis-analogize their responses and questions, which gives me new perspective on the problem or the potential solution.
My wife is so patient with me. I try to pay her back by helping her with the design of her quilts.
August 6, 2010 at 10:07 am
I think exercise has worked well for me. We used to play ping pong, throw a football, etc. at work and discuss things. We solved a lot of problems that way, relaxing and chatting, moving around. I get lots of ideas while running these days, getting into that "zone".
I get a lot of ideas from talking to people. I think I get more ideas from getting out and just having random conversations at events or in the real world than from surfing the web.
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August 6, 2010 at 10:35 am
Steve Jones - Editor (8/6/2010)
I think exercise has worked well for me. We used to play ping pong, throw a football, etc. at work and discuss things. We solved a lot of problems that way, relaxing and chatting, moving around. I get lots of ideas while running these days, getting into that "zone".I get a lot of ideas from talking to people. I think I get more ideas from getting out and just having random conversations at events or in the real world than from surfing the web.
I agree here, I personally find a good walk at lunch enables me to review ideas in an environment that isn't in front of my desk!
August 6, 2010 at 11:10 am
The hard problems I solved when I am sleeping. I see the problem and some how my brain finds the answer while dreaming about it.
The way I tackle work ideas is more with paper and a pencil. I draw a diagram of what I know and then next to each 'entity' I put what tasks or events need to get done and then I open my development software and start writing code...
August 6, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Inception is an excellent movie, although not quite as mind-blowing as I was expecting (it delves into similar material that Dark City, The Matrix, eXistenZ, and Mulholland Drive all do). Joseph Gordon-Levitt deserves some sort of award for his dexterity during the zero-G scenes.
As for my own ideas, I get mine primarily through tangential thinking. One idea leads to another leads to another leads to another, until I'm nowhere near where I started. Sometimes I wonder if people think I'm insane because someone will mention a topic, my brain will abstract from that an idea, which leads me on a solo excursion into another realm of thought, and I'll comment about that.
Q: "What do you think of the new iPhone 4?"
Brain processes: iPhone 4 -> AT&T -> Poor reception -> My brother's reception is next week -> The Expendables comes out next week -> I wonder if I'm expendable at my job -> I better write some hidden code that will leave my systems in a state of disarray if I ever were fired
Yes, I'm probably certifiably insane.
August 6, 2010 at 12:37 pm
Q: "What do you think of the new iPhone 4?"
Brain processes: iPhone 4 -> AT&T -> Poor reception -> My brother's reception is next week -> The Expendables comes out next week -> I wonder if I'm expendable at my job -> I better write some hidden code that will leave my systems in a state of disarray if I ever were fired
Yes, I'm probably certifiably insane.
I would add scary to that as well.:-D
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
August 6, 2010 at 2:46 pm
TravisDBA (8/6/2010)
Q: "What do you think of the new iPhone 4?"
Brain processes: iPhone 4 -> AT&T -> Poor reception -> My brother's reception is next week -> The Expendables comes out next week -> I wonder if I'm expendable at my job -> I better write some hidden code that will leave my systems in a state of disarray if I ever were fired
Yes, I'm probably certifiably insane.
I would add scary to that as well.:-D
Yes! I've been called lots of things, "scary" is a new one.:satisfied:
August 6, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Interestingly enough sometimes I get really good ideas for solutions from unrelated problems.
I sometimes come across these ideas while helping out in the forums, just browsing blogs, etc. I just came across one today while trying to figure out a solution for an SSIS package. The solution ended up using a CTE and to create a comma delimited list for a range of values that could be passed to the package. In this case, it works quite well and I can avoid creating a ton of variables and a lot of logic just so I can create a table of 5 values. It works very quick and may be something I consider in the future.
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
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August 8, 2010 at 8:33 pm
I get 2 types of ideas each in different ways.
The ideas are either brand new ones for an as yet unknown problem and the second is for when the problem is known and a solution needed.
Firstly, those times when the mind wonders/wanders off like during weekly meetings, showering, driving, etc are good for those sparks of inspiration. The new ideas that no-one else recognises as needed. Unfortunately I can't rely on those to do all of my work for me.
Secondly, when I need to solve a complex problem I simply draw the problems down on big (plotter sized) sheet of paper. My drawings end up with notes all over it, scratchings, rehashes, etc and often form the basis of an entire system including the ideas I've scrapped (vital!). I can never come up with the same ideas using software, I need that creativeness that comes from using crayons pencils.
I read a lot of completely unrelated materials and find that combining various old ideas helps form new ones. A lot of breaththroughs in science come from working on unrelated disciplines. For example the development of weather forecasting as a science.
September 7, 2010 at 2:47 am
Well, obviously I get my ideas from the voices in my head...
:o)
February 6, 2015 at 1:43 am
My ideas are usually a variation of someone else's applied to a new scenario or in a novel way. Occasionally, just occasionally, I have an idea that I think of as totally new or unique.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
February 6, 2015 at 5:44 am
Well, I see two questions here, How do I find inspiration and How do I get my Ideas.
The first, I like to inform my mind, I spend great amount of time finding things to research that are "outside" my career, this leads my mind to different concepts which I then incorporate into my daily life. It inspires me to go look at what other people do, what they create, what they talk about, it inspires me to learn.
The second, we are human, and designed to come up with ideas, I just let my mind do the work, maybe they are useful, and maybe it's just something to talk about.. this leads me to the first, I get inspired by ideas from myself and from others..
Thanks, wonderful idea bringing up these questions.
Jaime Simancas.
February 6, 2015 at 12:29 pm
Great topic! I often find my inspiring break-through's come when the mind is calm and no distractions are present. This seems to be a common thread with many. This often happens for me when just waking and still in bed and I start to purposely think about a problem. Not all problems can be solved in your head, but sometimes it gives out the box approach moments that I wouldn't consider sitting in front of the keyboard.
I think best when all distractions are removed and in a quite place. I often wish I had a cot in my office where I could go lay down and listen to relaxing music when I need to solve a difficult problem, but hard to sell it idea in an office setting that you are increasing your productivity 🙂
February 6, 2015 at 9:57 pm
"I think the more we read, analyze, discuss, think, all those tasks involving mental intelligence..."
I just read Middle March, by George Elliot. A different place, time and sensibility. Even that (especially that, in some ways) contributes... (yes, i am a sql developer)
February 9, 2015 at 3:25 am
Gary Varga (2/6/2015)
My ideas are usually a variation of someone else's applied to a new scenario or in a novel way. Occasionally, just occasionally, I have an idea that I think of as totally new or unique.
It is a good point - I m not sure that I have ever had ideas that are truly unique. I can think of one situation where I was one of the first to notice an issue with a national dataset - I was quite chuffed at that. That is the benefit of the internet though you can find those similar ideas and get an idea of whether they have been successful or not - it helps feedback and refine your idea which leads to better solutions.
I have one idea at the moment that I think is unique it is however very difficult to implement and I m not sure that it would pay off 🙂
I am seeing quite a few markets being created on the internet which are very very interesting. Things like 99designs / Air B n B / Uber. They seem to be a much better way of organising things.
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