Invention is a creative process. An open and curious mind enables one to see beyond what is known. Seeing a new possibility, a new connection or relationship can spark(引发) an invention. Inventive thinking frequently involves combining concepts or elements from different fields that would not normally be put together. Sometimes inventors skip over the boundaries between separate fields. Ways of thinking, materials, processes or tools from one field are used as no one else has imagined in a different field.
Play can lead to invention. Childhood curiosity like playing in a sand box, imagination can develop one’s play nature—an inner need according to Carl Jung. Inventors feel the need to play with things that interest them, and to explore, and this internal drive brings about interesting creations.
Inventing can also be an obsession(痴迷). Inventors often imagine a new idea, seeing it in their mind’s eye. New ideas can arise when the conscious mind turns away from the subject or problem; or when the focus is on something else; or even while relaxing or sleeping. An unusual idea may come all of a sudden! For example, after years of working to figure out the general theory of relativity, the solution came to Einstein suddenly in a dream “like a giant die making an unforgettable impress, a huge map of the universe summarized itself in one clear vision”.
Invention can also be accidental. Insight(洞察力) is also an important element of invention. It may begin with questions or doubt. It may begin by recognizing something unusual. It may be useful and it could open a new way for exploration. For example, the odd metallic color of plastic made by accidentally adding too much catalyst(催化剂) led scientists to explore its metal-like properties(性能). They then invented electrically conductive plastic and light emitting(散发) plastic—an invention that won the Nobel Prize in 2000 and has led to new kind of lighting, display screens, wallpaper and much more.
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A(n)   3   process	◆Look     2    than we know now. ◆Give combining concepts or     4   elements from different fields. ◆No one can    5    this before.
An obsession	◆   6    often imagine a new idea. ◆An unusual idea may come    7  .
A(n)   8	◆A vital element of invention is  9  . ◆It may open a new way for exploration. ◆Accidental actions can     10    to innovation.