Learning from diverse experiences is essential for invention
Learning for a purpose. Two things that come out of that are I like to take on challenges that I don’t necessarily have experience with that cause me to go figure it out / learn about it. I’m always learning because the best way to find solutions is by learning all about the problem. What I’ve learned in one situation is often instrumental to applying to a different/new situation. Learning new skills, learning about different industries, and how different kinds of problems can be solved provides me with insight that is constantly evolving. The more and varying the challenges I experience is what builds that library of potential solutions.
I break down each of the solutions into their fundamental core functions/purposes/components. Then I look at which ones have the same core comp. Both the Existing and new system. Then I focus on the deltas.
When presented with a new problem or challenge that I don’t have any experience with, I first break them down into their fundamental core functions and compare them with things I have encountered in my past. Then, depending on the degree of their similarity with previous solutions I’ve experienced, I find existing solutions that can be applicable – even if they came from different industries or technologies. Similarly, previous failures can be predicted and avoided.