Do software-generated "connections" really generate inspiration?

Posted by Manfred
Oct 25, 2007 at 05:27 PM

(i) on software-generated “connections” - ALL the connections in my ConnectedText file have been created by me - it’s part of thinking about the material - and the first step in organizing the material

(ii) on “inspiration” I subscribe to the motto that creative work is ninety-nine percent perspiration and one percent inspiration;

(a) whatever inspiration there is, it is based on previous actions of mine (see (i)); it’s a gradual process for me, though I have had “aha” moments ;

(b) there is surprise sometimes (the longer you work with such a system, the more often). You create a link and find that there is a topic with that name already and it has connections to other interesting topics, which show that you have thought about the matter before—often in an entirely different context. And I find this extremely useful, even if it does not happen every day or even every week. But you do get surprised and thus stimulated to reflect some more on matters you thought about before.

I see wiki-like systems as extensions of natural memory, as “amplifying” my intelligence, not as replacing it. To say it again, it’s part a long-term approach; nothing that you would encounter in using a program for two or three weeks ...

Manfred