Birthplaces of Ideas

Readers of this blog know that I’m fond of stories about imagination and creativity. After all, I make my living by coming up with ideas (I didn’t say it was a good living). WIRED Magazine has an affinity for such things too. In the April issue they have a pictorial of places were great ideas came to life. Usually we focus on the people with the great ideas. Nothing wrong with that but WIRED took a different approach and shows us the Rigby Idaho field where Philo Farnsworth came up with the idea that led to television; the Presbyterian church where Arthur Fry thought up the Post-It Note; and the train car in which JK Rowling created Harry Potter. All of it is a reminder that creativity never sleeps and the next great idea might just come to life in the Starbucks down the street.

Looking back over the places of origin for some of my books tells me that very few ideas came while I sat at my desk. Storylines have come to me in the car, movie theaters, restaurants, church, and scores of other places—all proof that I should get out more.

You can see the photos and read the captions here.

AG