Wild Ideas

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Wild Ideas

May 6, 2010. By Peter Lloyd

When we solve problems, we go through processes of trial and error in which the stronger ideas survive and the ones that don't work are discarded. That in a nutshell of oversimplification represents the kernel of Natural Selection.

The human creative process mirrors the ideas of Charles Darwin in his groundbreaking book
On the Origin of Species.

And why wouldn't our thinking processes work that way? We, our bodies and our brains, are products of Natural Selection. Naturally the best way we've learned to think—scientifically—works like Natural Selection.

Our cultures and our societies lurch ahead as failed systems fall by the wayside. Just as Darwin observed in the wild and described in his writing.

No surprise then that we can look to nature for help when solving problems. Creativity, the force we use to create, works best when it imitates the greatest creator of them all, Mother Nature.

A couple of websites devote themselves to this insight. Ask Nature, driven by biologist Janine Benyus of the Biomimicry Institute, teams up with the Encyclopedia of Life to design and invent, inspired by nature and in harmony with nature as well.

AskNature is a free, open-source, community-built-and-run place "where biology and design cross-pollinate, so bio-inspired breakthroughs can be born." And it's wild!

In our book and problem solving process, Animal Crackers, Stephen Grossman and I come right out and propose that Mother Nature has solved every problem you and I will ever encounter. Modeled after Darwin's Natural Selection process, Animal Crackers' 14 steps are divided into three parts: Extinction, Mutation, and Selection. In the Mutation phase, we turn to the adaptations of animals for inspiration.

When you use Animal Crackers, these animal adaptations serve as metaphors for solving your problem. An ever-growing selection of Animal Adaptations is free online. You can also purchase the Animal Crackers Manual, which takes you step by step through the entire process.

Wild Ideas audio vignettes offer several Animal Adaptations in 30- and 90-second formats.

Of course, you need neither Animal Crackers nor Ask Nature to get help solving your problems. Simply look around you instead of staring at your blank piece of paper. Problem-solving metaphors are everywhere. And they're free.

171 Right Brain Workouts are available in the 134-page paperback Right Brain Workouts: Aerobic Exercises for the Creative Side of Your Brain.

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