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It's how creativity works. Especially in humans. For every good idea, ten thousand idiotic ones must first be posed, sifted, tried out, and discarded. A mind that's afraid to toy with the ridiculous will never come up with the brilliantly original.
David Brin
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Creativity involves trial and error, requiring many failed ideas before achieving brilliance.

David Brin highlights the nature of creativity, emphasizing that the process often involves generating numerous poor ideas before arriving at something exceptional. He suggests that a willingness to explore even the silliest concepts is crucial for original thought, as fear of failure can stifle innovation.

Themes

CreativityIdeasInnovationFailureOriginality

In practice

Example use cases

During a brainstorming session to encourage team members to propose wild ideas without fear of judgment.

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