How to generate "the most magnificent idea"
Children’s books are the best. (I promise this is relevant.) They often tackle very difficult topics in ways that elegantly capture nuance and appropriately complement children’s ever-growing cognitive capacities. They also include pictures that can support and extend far beyond the text, adding beautiful complexity that children will come to increasingly appreciate as they age. And, if I’m being honest, I love pictures, especially in journal articles, because their inclusion means less text to read and they provide an opportunity to digest complex information in new ways. So, although I planned to write about “managing up” as a graduate student and postdoc, I’m going to take a bit of a detour thanks to a children’s book I happened upon during my most recent bookstore visit (i.e., where I just was about 10 minutes ago before sitting down at my desk to write this).
But first, two housekeeping things: 1) I plan to resume sending copies of A Field Guide to Grad School in January. If you are able to donate copies, please reach out to me at letstalkgradschool@gmail.com. 2) I hope to publish posts more regularly during the upcoming term. If there are topics you’d like me to cover, please let me know (at the same email). Ok, onto the good stuff!
This weekend, like many people in the United States, I took advantage of holiday sales. Although I now do most of my shopping online, I did make it to a bookstore just before the close of the weekend. As always, I made a lap around the children’s section to see whether there were any relevant books for me to review (I review children’s books about money and related sorts of things on Instagram) and The Most Magnificent Idea caught my eye!
Generating ideas is central to our work as scholars, instructors, and practitioners (and really just being human). At the same time, good ideas can feel hard to come by. So, while sitting on the floor of the bookstore with The Most Magnificent Idea in my lap, I started to think through my processes for generating ideas and thought I’d share some of them with you. To be clear, I don’t think I have the best ideas, nor do I think I know the best ways to come up with them! I just know what it feels like to feel stuck and I know what I’ve done to get myself unstuck.
She makes things — it’s what she does! So WHY can’t she just make an IDEA? - Ashley Spires, The Most Magnificent Idea
Of course, there are the obvious things you can do to help yourself generate ideas, including: reading journal articles in your area(s) of interest, initiating conversations with your advisor(s), mentor(s), friends, and colleagues, perusing YouTube for relevant lectures, and making the most of meetings and conferences. I, however, am going to focus on the less obvious things you can do to help yourself generate ideas (roughly moving in order from least least obvious to most least obvious <insert wink emoji>).
Read outside your discipline. As an interdisciplinary researcher, I’ve come to appreciate the contributions of different fields to my areas of interest. At the same time, I know first-hand how easy it can be to neglect relevant work conducted outside one’s “home” discipline. I urge you to move beyond the (often arbitrary) boundaries of your discipline to understand how scholars in other fields have approached studying your questions of interest. Hint: If in a social/behavioral science, odds are someone in sociology has studied your topic of interest.
Read popular press books. Sometimes, we can get so caught up in the trees that we miss the forest. Said another way, we can get so caught up in the details that we miss the big idea. Good science writers are able to communicate complex ideas in ways that are accessible to broad audiences. They are also often able to make meaningful connections across bodies of work that may help you see your own research in a new way.
Engage with #AcademicTwitter. I’m not sure where #AcademicTwitter will live in the future (many folks are trying out Mastodon at the moment), but consider engaging with it in whatever way makes the most sense for you. I’m still on Twitter and would be happy to hear from you! For all its faults (and there are many), social media can be a great place to connect with others, exchange ideas, and learn. More on engaging with #AcademicTwitter in this post.
Talk to someone who doesn’t do research. I am fortunate that my partner is not a researcher, nor employed within higher education at all. As someone whose head is not in work relevant to my own on a regular basis, he is able to offer much-needed fresh perspectives. Who is the most curious person you know who is not a researcher? Talk to that person…a lot.
Take a shower. I’m not alone in believing that some of our best ideas come to us when we’re least able to write them down…perhaps it’s because showering is otherwise mindless or perhaps it’s because showering allows us to metaphorically cleanse our brains while actually cleansing our bodies. Of course, there’s a product we can now use to take notes in the shower, but half the fun is holding the idea in mind until you can make it back to your desk to jot it down!
Take a walk. If showering isn’t helping, consider going for a walk and letting your mind wander. As someone who studies human behavior, there’s so much to observe—how people interact with each other, how people interact with their environment, how people react to products on store shelves! Observations are endless and limitless.
Read fiction. The best thing I did for my own research was start reading fiction again. Good writing is good writing and it’s always helpful to read good writing. And, good writers immerse us in new words that can help us see ourselves in new ways, including our research. Side note: I just finished The Winners by Fredrik Backman this weekend and am feeling a great sense of loss now that I’ve completed the Beartown trilogy.
Scroll through TikTok. I’m being serious, scroll through TikTok, especially if you study any aspect of human behavior. Problems with social media aside, TikTok is a gold mine. I’ve happened upon so many videos relevant to my work on children’s financial decision making. I’ve also learned a lot about chemistry from one of my favorite academic influencers, Dr. Andre Isaacs. Perhaps you prefer Instagram or some other platform - use that then. However, as someone who spends far too much time on far too many platforms (compliments of teaching social media marketing), TikTok is the best for generating ideas.
Don’t try to generate ideas. A watched pot never boils, right? Sometimes it’s best to just release yourself from some obligation you’ve committed yourself to and embrace uncertainty. We are so often too hard on ourselves. Ideas will come, we just have to create the space (and, of course, do a bit of work).
That’s it for now!
Oh, and if you have young children, I do recommend The Most Magnificent Idea!
How to reach me: You are always welcome to email me (letstalkgradschool@gmail.com) or find me on Twitter @tweetsbymidge.
Want to support my #hiddencurriculum efforts? Consider “buying me a coffee” via Ko-fi. All funds will be put back into my Let’s Talk Grad School initiatives (i.e., weekend groups, buying/mailing books, etc.). Learn more about my efforts here.
Let’s give away some books: Readers located in the United States are eligible to enter the book giveaway to receive a copy of A Field Guide to Grad School by Dr. Jessica Calarco. To do so, complete this survey and note that you only have to complete it once to be entered in all subsequent giveaways! I do hope to expand the reach of the giveaway; however, at the moment, the shipping costs are too great to scale. If you’d like to talk about ways your institution could secure an electronic (or hard) copy, please let me know.
Until next time!
Margaret