A new idea comes suddenly and in a rather intuitive way, Einstein once said, but intuition is nothing but the outcome of earlier intellectual experience. When people take insights from multiple sources and put them together, it's natural for them to think that the resulting ideas are their own-as in truth they are.
Walter Isaacson's book, "The Innovators," discusses the nature of creativity and innovation, emphasizing that groundbreaking ideas often emerge suddenly and intuitively. Einstein highlighted that this intuition is built upon a foundation of prior knowledge and experiences. Therefore, what may appear to be a spontaneous insight is actually a culmination of past intellectual engagements.
The author argues that when individuals draw from various influences and combine them, they tend to perceive these new ideas as original. In reality, these insights are the product of collaborative evolution in thought and creativity, illustrating how innovation is rarely a solitary endeavor but rather a collective process that builds on existing concepts.
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