Just as “chance favors the prepared mind” (Louis Pasteur) so the muses of science and creativity favor those who have done their homework. Based on a survey of recent research in creativity, we could describe the four key stages of discovery as follows:
- Immersion – a long depth engagement with a subject
- Acquisition – of a wealth of data and experience relevant to the subject
- Inspiration – the Eureka moment
- Evaluation – testing the discovery through experiment and dissemination [2]
You can’t force stage three. To get to it, you may have to let go – take a walk, take a swim, take a nap, take a break.