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Generate Ideas with Random Stimulation

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic (by 2 people)   Your rating: 1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic

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The Random Stimulation technique

 

Random stimulation is a great way to come up with unexpected and unusual ideas. With this thinking technique, you simply bypass your regular thinking habits and force your brain to work in new paths. This lens will teach you about the method and give you some links and tools to generate random stimulation yourself, online.

How it works? 

Basically, the whole idea is to find previously unknown connections between your challenge and the random stimulation, and find a solution or idea that is based upon this connection.

To do that, follow these steps:

1. Clearly understand the challenge you are facing, or what kind of ideas you are looking for.

2. Activate a random stimulation. It can be a word, picture, quote or concept.

3. Explore possible connections between the stimulation and your challenge:
What similar patterns do you see? What differences? See the bigger picture: What deeper concepts lie behind the stimulation and its connection to your challenge?

4. Get inspired by these connections and generate as many ideas as you can.

5. Move on to the next stimulation.

Be patient. In many cases, your initial reaction to the stimulation might be negative. You might feel there is no connection or feel this stimulation will not lead you to a solutions. This is common. Remember, this technique is about thinking in new and different ways, and sometimes your brain tries to revert to its usual thinking patterns. So be patient, even if you don't find a connection at first glance - look deeper and further.

Example 

Challenge: coming up with ideas for a new deodorant.
Random stimulation (random word): umbrella
Umbrella is being used during wintertime. Idea: special winter / summer editions.
Umbrella is being used according to climate conditions. Idea: a deodorant that react to changes in body temperature.
Some umbrellas can be folded to a small size. Idea: a small pack to carry in your bag.

Random verbal stimulation sources 

just click and get a random word

Find connections between your challenge and the random word as described above. Feel free to rate the links and add your own.

Visuwords: online graphical dictionary

Graphical thesaurus. You can choose random word or more...2 points

Random visual stimulation 

just click and get a random picture

Look at the picture. Notice its subject, colors, composition etc. Understand the story and ideas behind the picture. Get inspired by the picture, find new connections and generate ideas. Feel free to rate the links and add your own.

Random coceptual stimulation 

just click and get a random concept

Random concept gives you an abstract idea as a stimulation. Play around with this idea. how can you implement it? change it? Challenge it? Find new connections and let the random concept inspire you. Feel free to rate the links and add your own.

Random creative thinking strategy

by Roger Van Oech. Refresh the page to get another more...2 points

Random Bible Quotes

The Bible is full of insights. try one.0 points

Articles about Random Stimulation 

Wikipedia
A Wikipedia article
Mycoted Wiki
More explanations about the technique
Why You Need to Be Disorganised to Be Creative
A great post from Wishful Thinking blog, by Mark McGuinness
Peripheral Viewing
An advanced technique using random visual stimulation

Blog Posts from Google 

"Random Stimulation" + "Random stimuli"

Updates every 30 minutes
Seeding Ideas with Random Stimulation
One of the most systematic methods of random stimulation, drawn from the advertising industry, is the random word technique. The classical implementation of the random word technique is to pose your problem, then open up a book to a ...
Lateral Thinking - Edward De Bono
The two ways of random stimulation are Exposure and Formal Generation. Exposure is when one actively puts oneself into a postion where one is subjected to random stimulation that is part of exposure and part of formal generation. ...
Random Stimulation 3
hello world. time to brush off the dusts in this blog. so, here's Random Stimulation 3. ???- first, happy holidays. second, happy new year. it all went pretty normal for my family. on christmas day, besides from the over-the-top ...
Creative Writing Exercises
The vital thing to bear in mind is that not to discard the random hand-outs with the random stimulation. You will not turn up with the something incredible, if you hang around for a word or an idea which already fits. ...

Random stimulation cards 

different card decks for creative thinking

Innovative Whack Pack

Amazon Price: $16.00 (as of 07/09/2008)

Creative Whack Pack

Amazon Price: $16.00 (as of 07/09/2008)

Thinkpak: A Brainstorming Card Deck

Amazon Price: (as of 07/09/2008)

The Bright Idea Deck: Breakthrough to Brilliance

Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 07/09/2008)

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Ranen_Carmel

About Ranen_Carmel

A former Construction worker, Musician, Air Trafic Controller, Travel Agent, a Copywriter and a Creative Director.

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