We often think that if we give ourselves the right space and conditions, an idea will fall from the sky.
In a new review article, Brian Lucas and Loren Nordgren demonstrate this "insight bias", in which we underestimate persistence and overestimate insight, which is ingrained in our understanding of genius and creativity.
The reality, however, is very different.
If you don't have inspiration, give it a try and try again.
When we first examine a task or initially collaborate on an idea, most of us overestimate how much we can accomplish.
The authors discussed how a team at Cornell University asked participants to estimate how many ideas they thought they would come up with in a brainstorming event in two rounds.
They found that people often think they'll come up with more ideas the first time.
But their research shows that "creativity actually increases, or remains the same throughout the process." ”
What's more, the team gets people to try their best to solve a problem that they can.
When asked to what extent they thought they had "exhausted the problem-solving space" (i.e., the extent to which they had considered all possible answers), it was estimated that for the first time they had solved about 75% of the problem space.
In reality, this proportion is close to 20 to 30 percent.
These studies show that when it comes to genius and creativity, we are inherently biased towards "inspiration."
We seem to think that our best ideas arise at the beginning of a daunting task.
But the evidence suggests otherwise.
But that's not to say inspiration doesn't happen.
So, what is the most important factor: inspiration or perseverance?
At The Corner of Inspiration, we have a lot of names.
Steve Jobs writes, "When you ask creative people how they do something, they feel a little bit guilty because they don't really do it, they just see something. ”
Genius is something you come by yourself; you are not working towards genius.
It took Sally Rooney just three months (during her master's degree) to write her best-selling book, Friends.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote the famous epic "Kublai Khan".
Paul McCartney claimed that the first stanza of "Eleanor Rigby" "just came to me" when he sat at the piano.
Philip Pullman, who proudly embraces atheism, admits that it's hard not to mention his own muse-like feelings when it comes to his own inspiration.
He wrote, "It feels like being blessed.
Somewhere there is inexhaustible power, truth, meaning, encouragement and happiness".
Charles Darwin is said to have had an epiphany when he was studying finches in the Galapagos.
And, as we all know, J.K. Rowling once said that while waiting for a delayed train, the idea of Harry Potter suddenly flooded into her mind.
Not all the stories.
But things aren't as clear as these examples might suggest.
We like them and even tend to remember or exaggerate them, which contributes more to the "insight bias" that Lucas and Nordgren discuss in their paper.
The reality, however, is that creativity and genius tend to be more attributable to the painstaking grafting of rolled-up sleeves.
Or, as Thomas Edison famously put it, "Genius is one percent inspiration plus ninety-nine percent sweat." ”
While J.K. Rowling's inspiration came from the train station platform, she spent five years curating the collection and seven years writing her first book.
Even though "Kublai Khan" appeared in his dreams, it took Coleridge a long time to redraft and edit his masterpiece.
Although the finches were important to Darwin, it took him months to sort them out when he returned to London.
He wrote: "Unfortunately, most of the specimens of the finches tribe are mixed together. ”
For every Sally Rooney, there's a Harper Lee or George W. Bush. R· R. Martin, their sequel will take many years to complete.
While Pullman acknowledges his "blessing" with inspiration, he goes on to say, "The only way to become a professional artist is to learn how to work effectively without inspiration." ”
Perhaps the best example of perseverance comes from Beethoven's "Diabelli Variations."
In 1819, a wealthy and famous music publisher named Diabery challenged the greatest composers of his time, such as Schubert, Liszt, and Beethoven, to provide variations on his waltz.
Most composers create something in a matter of months, and they're good enough.
But not Beethoven.
He took the challenge to heart and spent three years completing the task.
Finally, in 1822, he submitted 33 variations of the Diabery Waltz instead of one, which is now considered one of his greatest musical feats.
Blood, sweat and tears.
The truth is that inspiration — the moment of inspiration — is not as common as we think.
Today, much of what we consider great and genius is achieved through long hours of work, late nights, and the help of friends, family, and colleagues.
For those of us who are not Beethoven, Darwin, or romantic poets, perseverance and hard work are more important.
As Lucas and Nordgren reveal, even if we may have hoped or hoped for lightning for epiphany, much of our achievements can only be achieved through the generous use of elbow grease.