你可以學(xué)會如何想出優(yōu)秀的創(chuàng)意。這是奧利維亞·?？怂埂たò嗯c朱達·波拉克在《網(wǎng)與蝴蝶：突破性思維的藝術(shù)與實踐》（The Net and the Butterfly: The Art and Practice of Breakthrough Thinking）一書中做出的大膽承諾?？ò嗍恰恩攘χi》（The Charisma Myth）一書的作者，她與波拉克曾在斯坦福大學(xué)的創(chuàng)業(yè)孵化器任職；目前，兩人為許多優(yōu)秀公司提供咨詢服務(wù)，包括谷歌（Google）、Airbnb、IDEO、德勤（Deloitte），甚至美國陸軍特種部隊。《網(wǎng)與蝴蝶》一書不僅用軼事趣聞講述了著名創(chuàng)意的誕生，還提供了一系列實踐練習(xí)，目的是提高讀者產(chǎn)生卓越創(chuàng)意的能力。下文的編輯節(jié)選內(nèi)容，探討了最有益于創(chuàng)造力的精神狀態(tài)，并用示例講解了如何進入這種狀態(tài)。最后一段講述了創(chuàng)意“誕生過程”通常包含了在原始的思想火花迸發(fā)之后，對創(chuàng)意的修改和合并。——《財富》

1965年。佛羅里達州克利爾沃特。當(dāng)時的滾石樂隊仍籍籍無名。在一個悶熱潮濕的清晨，基思·理查茲在一家汽車旅館的客房里醒來，看到了床上的吉他和一臺錄音機。頭昏腦脹、宿醉未醒的理查茲把磁帶倒了回去，按下了播放鍵。在這張長達一個小時的磁帶中，他自己打鼾的聲音占了59分鐘。但前30秒?yún)s成為了滾石樂隊最標志性暢銷單曲《Satisfaction》的開頭和第一句歌詞。他根本不記得自己碰過錄音機。

不論你是否相信，理查茲獲得突破性時刻的模式，與阿爾伯特·愛因斯坦發(fā)現(xiàn)狹義相對論的模式完全相同。我們在為本書采訪世界上最偉大的創(chuàng)新者的過程中，曾無數(shù)次耳聞這種模式。如果你在洗澡的時候也曾有過靈光一現(xiàn)，那你肯定也有過同樣的經(jīng)歷。

如果你出現(xiàn)了這種“淋浴時刻”，很有可能你當(dāng)時正在思考某件事情，可能是工作中的問題，或者人際關(guān)系上的麻煩。你肯定一直在思考這個問題，希望找到不同的解決辦法。然后你開始淋浴，水在你身上流淌，你的意識也開始信馬由韁。你不再專注于一件事。突然，答案如晴天霹靂一般出現(xiàn)在你的腦海中。你的淋浴時刻與基思·理查茲和阿爾伯特·愛因斯坦的發(fā)現(xiàn)之間有什么共同點？當(dāng)你開始淋浴時，你已經(jīng)無意識地切換了大腦的模式。之前，你一直有意識地專注于問題。但在淋浴時，你的意識進入了漫游狀態(tài)，無所事事地做著白日夢，或者好像是“什么也沒想”。神經(jīng)科學(xué)家最近發(fā)現(xiàn)，突破的秘密在于，我們能夠在專注與漫游這兩種模式之間切換。

You can learn to cultivate great ideas. That’s the bold promise of The Net and the Butterfly: The Art and Practice of Breakthrough Thinking, by Olivia Fox Cabane and Judah Pollack. Cabane is the author of The Charisma Myth and both she and Pollack used to work at Stanford University’s start-up accelerator; the two now consult variously for prominent companies and organizations ranging from Google, Airbnb, and IDEO to Deloitte and even the U.S. Army Special Forces. The Net and the Butterfly is filled not only with anecdotes describing the births of famous ideas, but also with a series of practical exercises aimed at improving your ability to generate them. The edited excerpts that follow examine the states of mind that are most conducive to creativity along with a few examples of how to achieve those states. The final passage explores how idea “creation” often consists as much of idea modification and combination as of the original spark.—Fortune

***

THE YEAR WAS 1965. The place was Clearwater, Fla. In his motel room—the Rolling Stones weren’t yet famous enough to afford hotels—Keith Richards woke up on a hot, humid morning to find his guitar and a tape recorder on the bed beside him. Groggy and hungover, Richards rewound the tape and pressed play. The hourlong tape contained 59 minutes of his own snoring. But the first 30 seconds held the opening bars and first lyric of what became the Rolling Stones’s most iconic hit, the song “Satisfaction.” He didn’t remember even touching the tape recorder.

Believe it or not, Richards’s breakthrough moment follows the very same pattern as Albert Einstein’s discovery of the special theory of relativity. It’s the pattern we heard again and again when we interviewed some of the world’s greatest innovators for this book. And it’s the same pattern you’ve experienced if you’ve ever had a sudden epiphany in the shower.

Whenever you have a “shower moment,” chances are something was on your mind, like a problem at work or an issue in a relationship. You’d probably been mulling over the problem, trying to work it out in different ways. Then you stepped into the shower. Your mind wandered off as the water poured over you. You were no longer focused. Suddenly, seemingly out of the blue, the answer came to you. What do your shower moments have in common with both Keith Richards’s and Albert Einstein’s discoveries? When you got into the shower, you unknowingly switched brain modes. Previously, you had been consciously focusing on the problem. But in the shower, your mind was probably drifting, idly daydreaming or seemingly “thinking about nothing.” Neuroscientists have recently discovered that the secret to breakthroughs lies in our ability to switch between these two modes, the focused and the meandering.

對于專注模式我們早已不陌生，因為我們生活中一直在有意識地使用這種模式。你可以把它看作是“執(zhí)行模式”：是人類用于執(zhí)行和完成任務(wù)的模式。這種模式以目標為導(dǎo)向，專注于最終期限，擅長制定清單、遵照時間安排和遵守預(yù)算。大腦中負責(zé)這種模式的部分被稱為執(zhí)行網(wǎng)絡(luò)。

執(zhí)行網(wǎng)絡(luò)是在顱骨前方附近的一組大腦分區(qū)，負責(zé)幫助人類專注于任務(wù)和實現(xiàn)特定目標。人類非常擅長使用執(zhí)行網(wǎng)絡(luò)。畢竟，我們在學(xué)校中至少花了十多年的時間，專門訓(xùn)練這些分區(qū)。事實上，閱讀這句話的時候，你正在調(diào)用你的執(zhí)行網(wǎng)絡(luò)。通過執(zhí)行網(wǎng)絡(luò)，你可以成為（我們希望如此）有用、負責(zé)和高效的社會成員。

但僅靠執(zhí)行網(wǎng)絡(luò)并不能帶來突破。它還需要漫游網(wǎng)絡(luò)——即創(chuàng)造淋浴時刻的部分——提供幫助。這就是我們的創(chuàng)意網(wǎng)絡(luò)——默認網(wǎng)絡(luò)。你可以把默認網(wǎng)絡(luò)看作是大腦中的突破性天才組成的網(wǎng)絡(luò)或委員會。這些天才不斷地談?wù)摵徒涣鲃?chuàng)意、不完善的理論和大膽的猜想。

默認網(wǎng)絡(luò)是所有創(chuàng)意、發(fā)明和才華的來源，但它的作用尚未得到充分的認可。默認網(wǎng)絡(luò)在人類歷史上取得過哪些成就？或者換一種更好的問法，它在哪些偉大發(fā)現(xiàn)中發(fā)揮了作用？如果說執(zhí)行網(wǎng)絡(luò)賦予了人類專注和完成任務(wù)的能力，默認網(wǎng)絡(luò)則賦予了人類透過世界的復(fù)雜表象找出規(guī)律的能力。

默認網(wǎng)絡(luò)是人腦中一個非常重要的組成部分：研究已經(jīng)確認，大腦的這一部分對于人類生存的重要性，不亞于心臟或腎臟。它如此重要，甚至我們可以用一整本書的篇幅來講述它。我們可以說：“這就是它。它這樣運行，你可以這樣使用它，或者你可以這樣挖掘它的潛力。”但事實上，這還不夠。僅靠默認網(wǎng)絡(luò)也無法帶來突破。

基思·理查茲創(chuàng)作出《Satisfaction》，阿爾伯特·愛因斯坦發(fā)現(xiàn)狹義相對論，發(fā)揮作用的都是利用這兩種模式并在之間相互切換的能力。事實上，正是這種能力才誕生了人類歷史上的多數(shù)驚人發(fā)現(xiàn)

那么，我們?nèi)绾问褂锰觳拍Ｊ?？一種方法是睡覺。（千真萬確。）

亞當(dāng)·切耶爾是蘋果iPhone手機人工智能語音助手Siri的發(fā)明者。創(chuàng)造Siri是一項艱巨的設(shè)計與編程任務(wù)。海量的變量、理解不同語言模式的能力、基于人們要求信息的隨機方式進行搜索的能力，以及以有效的方式提供答案的能力等等，每一項都是巨大挑戰(zhàn)。幸運的是，切耶爾有一件秘密武器：隨時進入天才模式。

盡管設(shè)計和創(chuàng)造Siri是一項高度結(jié)構(gòu)化的任務(wù)，但切耶爾清楚，他不能按照邏輯的方式，去努力找到所有的答案。相反，他告訴我們：“我會帶著正在努力解決的問題睡上一覺?！焙屯旭R斯·愛迪生一樣，切耶爾也發(fā)現(xiàn)那種入睡前和覺醒前半睡半醒的朦朧狀態(tài)具有令人難以置信的突破能力。有時候，我們的天才委員會會高度緊張地運行。

他解釋說：“我在11點左右上床，一邊苦思冥想一個問題，一邊入睡?！鼻幸疇枴翱嗨稼は搿眴栴}的時候，有意識地調(diào)用了執(zhí)行網(wǎng)絡(luò)，使他的天才委員會專注于問題。他依靠天才委員會形成新的關(guān)聯(lián)，在睡眠過程中取得突破。而在早上醒來后，他會在桌子前，利用執(zhí)行網(wǎng)絡(luò)處理昨天晚上所收獲的創(chuàng)意。

在最初設(shè)計Siri的過程中，他每天早上醒來，都會從默認網(wǎng)絡(luò)獲得新的見解。之后他利用執(zhí)行網(wǎng)絡(luò)，將這些見解納入正在設(shè)計的原型。最終，他感覺自己的設(shè)計已經(jīng)足夠形象，可以展示給全世界。

The focused mode is one you are already familiar with, because it’s the one you have been consciously using all your life. You can think of this mode as the “executive mode”: it’s the one you use to execute, to get things done. Goal oriented and deadline focused, it’s a champion at making lists, following timelines, and coming in under budget. The part of your brain responsible for this mode is called the executive network, or EN.

The EN is a group of brain regions near the front of your skull that help you focus on a task and accomplish a specific goal. You’re very well versed in the use of your EN. You did, after all, spend at least a decade in school specifically training those brain regions. As a matter of fact, you’re using your EN right now to read this sentence. With your EN you are (we hope) a functional, responsible, and productive member of society.

But your EN alone can’t create breakthroughs. It needs help from the more meandering network, the one that creates shower moments. This is our creative network, the default network, or DN. You can think of the DN as a network or council of breakthrough geniuses inside your brain. The geniuses talk and exchange ideas, half-baked theories, and wild speculations.

The DN is the source of all our creativity, all our invention, all our genius—and it hasn’t gotten nearly enough recognition. What has the DN accomplished throughout history? A better question would be what great discoveries hasn’t it played a role in. If the EN gives us the ability to focus and accomplish a task, the DN gives us the ability to look through the complexity of the world to see the patterns underneath.

The DN is a vital component of your brain: Research has made clear that this part of your brain is as essential to your survival as your heart or your kidneys. It’s so important, in fact, that we could have written this entire book all about the DN. We would have said, “Here it is! Here’s how it works, here’s how you can access it, here’s how you can turbocharge it.” But in fact, that’s not enough. The DN, alone, can’t create breakthroughs.

It’s the ability to use both modes, to switch from one mode to another, that enabled Keith Richards to come up with “Satisfaction” and Albert Einstein to discover the special theory of relativity. In fact, it’s what enabled most discoveries in human history

***

So how can you access your genius mode? One way is to sleep on it. (Yes, really.)

Adam Cheyer is the creator of Siri, Apple’s artificial intelligence iPhone voice assistant. Building Siri was a Herculean design and programming task. The sheer number of variables—the ability to understand varying speech patterns, the ability to search based on the random ways people would request information, the ability to return answers in a useful way—were each a massive challenge. Thankfully, Cheyer had a secret weapon: ready access to his genius mode.

Although designing and building Siri was a highly structured task, Cheyer knew better than to try to logically grind out every answer. Instead, he told us, “I sleep on the issues I’m wrestling with.” Cheyer, like Thomas Edison, has discovered the incredible breakthrough power of the hypnagogic and hypnopompic states, the half-asleep periods just before falling asleep and just before waking. These are times when our genius council runs on hyperdrive.

“I go to bed around 11, noodling on a problem as I fall asleep,” he explained. By “noodling” on the problem, Cheyer uses his EN to deliberately and consciously focus his genius council on a question. He relies on his genius council to make new associations and deliver breakthroughs while asleep. In the morning he goes to his desk and uses his EN to process the night’s harvest of ideas.

Morning after morning while first designing Siri, he would wake up with new insights from his DN. He’d use his EN to integrate them into the prototype he was building. Eventually, he felt that he had something concrete enough to show the rest of the world.

入睡前和覺醒前的狀態(tài)提高創(chuàng)造力的效果顯著，因為我們的抑制性額葉，即執(zhí)行網(wǎng)絡(luò)的“行政辦公室”所在地，處在安靜狀態(tài)，而默認網(wǎng)絡(luò)卻在高強度運行。

實踐：如何進入入睡前狀態(tài)

— 清理房間內(nèi)的雜物和干擾物。

— 準備好紙筆、錄音機，手機調(diào)至飛行模式，準備記筆記，或者……

— 將燈光調(diào)暗（或戴眼罩）。

— 確保處在一個安靜的環(huán)境中，或者只能聽到白噪聲。

— 不要過于舒適——不要穿睡衣或者躺在床上。

— 盡量選擇中午時間或飯后，這時候你會感到適度的疲勞。

— 設(shè)置10至15分鐘鬧鐘。

— 拿出一點時間讓大腦專心思考問題，然后隨它去。放松，迷迷糊糊地睡去。

經(jīng)常開小差的人可以證明，僅僅休息一會兒不會帶來靈感：要想激發(fā)創(chuàng)造力，必須執(zhí)行能夠讓意識漫游的任務(wù)。

經(jīng)過一次關(guān)于“不同尋常用途”的創(chuàng)造力測試（“你可以用衣架做多少事情？”）之后，學(xué)生們休息了12分鐘。一組單純地進行休息；一組執(zhí)行簡單的、不需動腦的任務(wù)；一組進行高要求的記憶游戲；另一組不休息。

當(dāng)參與者重新進行創(chuàng)造力測試時，進行“不需動腦的任務(wù)”的小組，其表現(xiàn)平均提高了41%。相反，其他三組的表現(xiàn)沒有任何提高。

有趣的是，這種情況僅適用于已經(jīng)在絞盡腦汁思考的問題；完成一件不需要動腦的任務(wù)，似乎并不能帶來創(chuàng)造性問題解決能力的整體提高。這是有道理的：為使天才們高效率的工作，我們的高管必須給他們制定明確的目標。

我們的客戶經(jīng)常問：“有沒有一種最好的不需動腦的活動？”如果一定要選出一種，我們認為是步行。

在最近的研究中，參與者在室內(nèi)面朝空白墻壁的跑步機上步行或在空氣新鮮的戶外步行，他們所提供的創(chuàng)造性回答，比坐著不動的參與者多一倍。

首席研究員表示：“我認為在戶外步行最為有效。不過在狹小沉悶的房間里在跑步機上步行，也有很好的效果?！毖芯窟€發(fā)現(xiàn)，即使在步行之后重新坐下，依舊可以誕生大量的創(chuàng)意靈感。“我們知道步行會議能夠提高創(chuàng)造力，但在開會之前步行可能也有類似的效果?！?

從認知的角度，步行僅需要執(zhí)行網(wǎng)絡(luò)適量的關(guān)注。步行是一項非常復(fù)雜的任務(wù)： 我們要不斷接收腳、腿、臀、臂，以及作為人體平衡陀螺儀核心的內(nèi)耳的信息輸入。但人腦卻是處理這項任務(wù)的專家。憑借長久以來對這項任務(wù)的熟悉，執(zhí)行網(wǎng)絡(luò)僅需要為此投入很少的精力。

而從生理的角度，步行能夠刺激大腦。促進血液流動可以給大腦帶來一連串的其妙變化，包括釋放腦源性神經(jīng)營養(yǎng)因子和其他增長因子。腦源性神經(jīng)營養(yǎng)因子可以促進新神經(jīng)元的誕生和新神經(jīng)突觸的形成，并且可以加強現(xiàn)有的神經(jīng)突觸。

對于開放辦公室的褒貶不一，但由于開放辦公室的內(nèi)墻和移動辦公桌更少，因此至少它們更適宜步行。事實上，據(jù)斯坦福大學(xué)的研究顯示，開放空間對于創(chuàng)造力而言最重要的就是支持步行的能力。研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，步行可以將員工的創(chuàng)造性輸出提高60%。

眾所周知，查爾斯·達爾文有一條著名的四分之一英里長的步行小徑，名為“沙之小路”，在解決一個問題時，他會在這條小路上邊走邊思考?！安叫袑τ谒乃伎歼^程如此重要，以至于達爾文有時候會把正在解決的問題，換算成解決這個問題需要在這條小路上走完的圈數(shù)。”

梅森·柯里在研究了古往今來世界上近200位最多產(chǎn)的發(fā)明家和創(chuàng)新者的習(xí)慣之后發(fā)現(xiàn)，這些偉大的發(fā)明家和創(chuàng)新者都有一個共同的習(xí)慣——步行。柯里在報告中寫道，查爾斯·狄更斯每天下午會步行3個小時，而他在步行過程中所觀察到的事物，都直接變成了寫作的靈感。

柴可夫斯基雖然會勉強走完2個小時，但他絕不會提前返回一分鐘，因為他認為，欺騙自己完整走完了120分鐘，會讓他感到不舒服。貝多芬在午飯后會長時間散步，他會隨身攜帶一支鉛筆和紙，以記錄突然降臨的靈感。

索倫·克爾凱郭爾曾經(jīng)說過：“我用散步來成就我最好的思維。”有報告說，他經(jīng)常戴著帽子，拿著拐杖或雨傘，急匆匆地沖回到桌子前繼續(xù)寫作。

為了實現(xiàn)意識漫游，在安靜平和的地方步行效果良好； 如果你需要注意汽車、交通燈、慢跑者等，步行的效果會變差，因為你必須始終保持活躍的執(zhí)行模式。不論為了讓意識漫游還是有目的的步行，均取決于你自己：朱達喜歡漫無目的地步行，但奧利維亞需要一條路線和一個目的地。

事實是這樣的：并非你只需要去走一走，然后就能神奇地獲得突破性。步行是設(shè)定條件的有效方式，但除了漫無目的地游蕩，靈感的產(chǎn)生還需要更多因素。將之投入實踐涉及許多步驟，包括確定問題和制定目標。用語言描述自己正在尋找什么，可以讓你邁出尋找答案的第一步。你還需要隨身帶一本筆記本，以便于始終有地方可以記錄自己的想法。還有許多更意想不到的技巧：手中拿點東西。一枚硬幣、一塊石頭、一個曲別針、一個星球大戰(zhàn)的人偶等等。人手會向大腦發(fā)送海量的信息，而保持這些信息渠道開放，可使大腦處在一種更關(guān)聯(lián)的狀態(tài)。蘋果公司的亞當(dāng)·切耶爾總是會在桌子上放一個魔方，在思考的時候隨手把玩。

“創(chuàng)新就是將事物聯(lián)系在一起。你問有創(chuàng)造力的人是怎樣做事的，他們會覺得有點不好意思，因為他們其實并不是在創(chuàng)造，只是自然而然地看到了一些東西……因為他們能聯(lián)系到自己從前的經(jīng)歷，進而合成新的事物?！?

The hypnagogic and hypnopompic states are so fruitful for creativity because our inhibiting frontal lobes—where our EN’s front office is located—are quiet, and our DN is running strong.

***

Putting it into practice: How to enter the hypnagogic state

— Clear the room of clutter and distractions.

—Have pen and paper, voice recorder, your phone on airplane mode and set to take notes, or . . .

—Dim the lights (or wear an eye mask).

—Ensure you’re in a quiet place, or that only white noise is audible.

—Don’t get too comfortable—no wearing pajamas or getting in bed.

—Try to find time at midday, or right after you’ve eaten, when you’re just the right amount of tired.

—Set your alarm for ten to fifteen minutes.

—Take a moment to focus your brain on the problem, and then let it go. Relax and drift off.

***

As anyone who zones out all the time can testify, simply taking a break will not lead to inspiration: To stoke creativity, you need to perform tasks that allow your mind to wander.

After an “unusual uses” creativity test (“How many things can you do with a hanger?”) students were given a 12-minute break. One group simply rested; one did an easy, mindless task; one did a demanding memory game; and one group took no break.

When the participants reconvened and retook the creativity test, the “mindless task” group performed an average of 41% better. By contrast, participants in the other three groups showed no improvement.

Interestingly, this was only the case for problems that were already being mentally chewed on; doing a mindless task didn’t seem to lead to a general increase in creative problem-solving ability. This makes sense: Our executive has to have set a clear goal for our geniuses in order for them to be productive.

“So what’s the single best mindless activity I can do?” our clients often ask us. If we had to choose one single mindless activity, it would be walking.

In a recent study, participants walking indoors on a treadmill facing a blank wall or walking outdoors in the fresh air produced twice as many creative responses compared to those who were sitting down.

“I thought walking outside would blow everything out of the water,” said the lead researcher, “but walking on a treadmill in a small, boring room still had strong results.” The study also found that creative juices continued to flow even when a person sat back down shortly after a walk. “We know walking meetings promote creativity, but walking before a meeting may be nearly as useful.”

From a cognitive angle, walking demands just the right amount of focus from our executive, without asking too much. Walking is a very complex task: We are taking in constant input from our feet, legs, hips, arms, and, of course, our inner ears, the heart of our balance gyroscope. But our brains are experts at this task. Through long familiarity, the executive can do all this with very little energy.

From a physical angle, walking stimulates your brain. Increased blood flow causes a cascade of wonderful changes in the brain, including the release of brain-Derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) and other growth factors. BDNF promotes the birth of new neurons and the formation of new synapses, and it also strengthens existing synapses.

Open offices have strong detractors as well as proponents, but with their few inner walls and rolling tables, they’re at least walker friendly. In fact, according to research out of Stanford, the most important thing these open spaces offer to creativity is the ability to walk. Doing so increased a person’s creative output by 60%, the study found.

Charles Darwin famously had a quarter-mile-long walking path called the Sandwalk that was his place to go and think when working on a problem. “So important was walking to his thought processes that Darwin sometimes described a problem he was working on in terms of the number of turns around his path he would need to solve it.”

Mason Currey, after studying the habits of nearly 200 of the world’s most prolific inventors and innovators over the ages, found that the single common habit of these great inventors and innovators was walking. As Currey reports, Charles Dickens famously took 3-hour walks every afternoon—and what he observed on them fed directly into his writing.

Tchaikovsky made do with a 2-hour walk, but wouldn’t return a minute early, convinced that cheating himself of the full 120 minutes would make him ill. Beethoven took lengthy strolls after lunch, carrying a pencil and paper with him in case inspiration struck.

Soren Kierkegaard is quoted as saying “I have walked myself into my best thoughts.” He is also reported to have often rushed back to his desk and resumed writing, still wearing his hat and carrying his walking stick or umbrella.

Walking, when used for mind-wandering, works well in quiet, peaceful places; less well when you have to be aware of cars, traffic lights, joggers, and so forth, because your executive mode has to stay active. Whether to meander or to walk with purpose is up to you: Judah is comfortable walking aimlessly, but Olivia needs a route and a destination.

Here’s the thing: you don’t just take a walk and magically have a breakthrough. Walking is a wonderful way to set the conditions, but there is more to it than simply meandering along. Putting it into practice involves multiple steps, including defining your problem—the act of verbalizing what you’re looking for can get you started on finding the answer—and setting a goal. You’ll also need to carry a notebook so you always have a way to record your thoughts. And then there are the more unexpected techniques: Keep something in your hand. A coin, a stone, a paperclip, a Star Wars figurine—we won’t judge. Our hands send massive amounts of information to our brains, and keeping those channels open keeps our brains in a more associate state. Adam Cheyer of Apple always keeps a Rubik’s Cube on his desk to play with while thinking.

***

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. . . . That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.”

史蒂夫·喬布斯在這段話中所描述的就是“關(guān)聯(lián)思維”，是突破性思維的核心。我們常常錯誤地認為突破就是獨立的想法，是之前沒有任何人在任何情況下想到的事物。但事實上，幾乎所有突破都綜合了當(dāng)前已經(jīng)存在的各種想法。

亨利·福特的生產(chǎn)流水線創(chuàng)舉，結(jié)合了芝加哥肉類加工行業(yè)使用機械吊鉤和面包房使用工業(yè)傳送帶之間的聯(lián)系。他將兩者結(jié)合用于汽車生產(chǎn)，生產(chǎn)流水線由此誕生。

武器精準度的突破也是因為槍械制造商研究了弓和箭。箭尾的羽毛使箭旋轉(zhuǎn)，而旋轉(zhuǎn)則讓箭能夠直線飛行。同樣，螺旋拋出的足球也可以直線飛行。為了讓子彈旋轉(zhuǎn)，槍械制造商在槍管內(nèi)刻上了螺紋。于是，精準度提高了五倍。英語中在箭上安裝羽毛被稱作rifling，因此這種槍便被稱作來福槍（rifles）。

托馬斯·愛迪生最不成功的發(fā)明之一是1876年發(fā)明的可幫助復(fù)印的電筆。人們并不是很喜歡這個發(fā)明。1891年，一位名叫塞繆爾·奧萊利的紋身藝術(shù)家看到了這種筆，于是便有了突破。他發(fā)明了現(xiàn)代的紋身機。他并不是用墨在紙上寫字，而是在皮膚上創(chuàng)作圖像。

他看到了如何用它來替代自己使用的工具。再者，南太平洋鐵路（Southern Pacific Railroad）為推動洲際電信網(wǎng)絡(luò)修建了大量微波塔，當(dāng)時，他們關(guān)注的只是提高火車的效率。但這也成為了電信公司Sprint的基礎(chǔ)。在這個案例中，新的應(yīng)用成了突破。

What Steve Jobs is describing is called “associative thinking,” and is essential for breakthrough thinking. Too often, we make the mistake of assuming breakthroughs are freestanding ideas, something never thought of before by anyone in any context. The truth is that almost every breakthrough is a combination of ideas that already existed.

Henry Ford’s breakthrough of the assembly line came when he made an association between the Chicago meatpacking industry’s use of mechanized hooks and bakeries’ use of industrial conveyer belts. He put the two together, applied them to the building of the automobile, and the assembly line was born.

A breakthrough in gun accuracy came when gunmakers looked to the bow and arrow. The feathers on the back of arrows cause the arrow to spin, and the spin makes the arrow fly straight. In the same way, a football flies straight when thrown in a spiral. To make their bullets spin, gunmakers carved spirals inside their gun barrels. Accuracy increased fivefold. Because putting feathers on arrows was called rifling, these guns became known as rifles.

One of Thomas Edison’s least successful inventions was the electric pen, patented in 1876, to help make copies. People just weren’t that into it. In 1891, a tattoo artist named Samuel O’Reilly saw the pen and had a breakthrough. He invented the modern tattooing machine. Instead of ink writing language on paper, he applied ink to skin to create images.

He saw how to substitute it for what he was using. And when the Southern Pacific Railroad built a series of microwave towers to facilitate an intercontinental network of telecommunications, they were just focused on improving their trains’ efficiency. But this also became the foundation for the telecom company Sprint. The new use in this case became the breakthrough.

本文節(jié)選自《網(wǎng)與蝴蝶：突破性思維的藝術(shù)與實踐》，作者奧利維亞·?？怂埂たò嗯c朱達·波拉克，2017年2月7日由企鵝出版集團（Penguin Publishing Group）旗下的Portfolio出版社出版。企鵝出版集團隸屬于企鵝蘭登書屋有限責(zé)任公司（Penguin Random House LLC）。版權(quán)所有?2017。奧利維亞·?？怂埂たò嗯c朱達·波拉克。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

Excerpted from The Net and the Butterfly: The Art and Practice of Breakthrough Thinking by Olivia Fox Cabane and Judah Pollack, published on February 7, 2017, by Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright ? 2017 by Olivia Fox Cabane and Judah Pollack.