How many ideas fit on the head of a pin?

So, the normal philosophical question is, "How many angels fit on the head of a pin?" But, I'd like to turn that to ideas. Think about it. Can you stop ideas from forming right on top of each other? Back when I was in Junior high (7th grade, or thereabouts), a history teacher challenged our whole class. He held up a small cylinder with a lid (a 35mm film case, if you know what those are). Anyway, he wanted us to come up with ideas of how this item could be used. He gave five minutes and let us go to it. Most people came up with perhaps a half dozen ideas. I couldn't write fast enough, but I think I had around 30 or so. Our teacher said the same challenge was posed to a famous science fiction writer, who came up with over 100 ideas. True or not, that simple challenge has guided me throughout my life.

35mm film canisters, sadly no longer anywhere. They were perfectly sized to hold quarters!

What's the takeaway from this challenge? Well, I hope it's that we shouldn't halt at just a few new ideas. Stretch. Go for everything your mind can conceive. We are gifted with imagination, and the will to use it. Why settle for a handful of good ideas, when we can have barrels full of concepts that we comb through later to find the really great gems of imagination! In short, don't limit yourself. If you'll let fly with everything you have inside of you, you'll be pleasantly surprised to find wonderful things.

 

As a writer, I get asked many times where I find my inspiration. Well, just keep your eyes and mind open and you're bound to find inspiration wherever you are. Really, it's not hard. The biggest part is taking that inspiration and doing something with it. After all, the best of ideas remain mere ideas until they are used. Put into action, even the worst ideas can become wonderful--think about oysters and who thought they'd be good to eat, or cooking rubber and making tires, or saving voices by making a needle wiggle on wax cylinders. Ideas are a dime a dozen, but action is where real magic happens.

 

So, how many ideas did you come up with for a small cylinder with a lid?...

 

- M