John Carmack on Idea Generation

Idea Generation

It’s easier to filter the million ideas in your head when you have an idea system. Most ideas that we work on are actually fragile, where we get discouraged when we start working on it. John Carmack believes in an antifragile idea system which is outlined below.

1. You are working on a problem and you get an idea and with it the initial idea high
2. You should instantly try to defeat your idea – think of all the ways it could not work, test it out, put it under stress
3. If the idea survive the brutal scrutiny then it has legs for further investigations or implementation
4. If the idea is implemented and it works then that’s great
5. If the idea fails the scrutiny or implementation you can quickly move on to the next idea without feeling the lows because you haven’t obsessed or talked about it i.e. it’s not your pet idea.

From Amjad Masad