Where Good Ideas Come From: The Seven Patterns of Innovation
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- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Steven Johnson
- ISBN：0141033401
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Summary
From the author of Emergence and The Ghost Map， Steven Johnson's Where Good Ideas Come From: The Seven Patterns of Innovation identifies key principles that are the driving force of creativity。
Learn how:
A slow hunch can be much more valuable than a Eureka moment
The connected 'hive mind' is smarter than the lone thinker
Where you think matters just as much as what you're thinking
The best ideas come from building on the ideas and inventions of others
From the Renaissance to satellites， medical breakthroughs to social media， Charles Darwin to Marconi， Steven Johnson shows how， by recognising where and how patterns of creativity occur， we can all discover the secrets of inspiration。
'Inspirational' - Independent
'Exhilarating 。。。 An entirely new way of looking at almost everything' - Guardian
'A huge diversity of bright ideas' - Financial Times
'Johnson finds new and original things to say about the nature of innovation， and the different forms it can take' - Economist， Books of the Year
'An enthralling work full of counter-intuitive insights' - Daily Mail
Steven Johnson is the author of the acclaimed books Everything Bad is Good for You， Mind Wide Open， Emergence and Interface Culture。 His writing appeared in the Guardian， the New Yorker， Nation and Harper's， as well as the op-ed pages of The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal。 He is a Distinguished Writer In Residence at NYU's School Of Journalism， and a Contributing Editor to Wired。
Learn how:
A slow hunch can be much more valuable than a Eureka moment
The connected 'hive mind' is smarter than the lone thinker
Where you think matters just as much as what you're thinking
The best ideas come from building on the ideas and inventions of others
From the Renaissance to satellites， medical breakthroughs to social media， Charles Darwin to Marconi， Steven Johnson shows how， by recognising where and how patterns of creativity occur， we can all discover the secrets of inspiration。
'Inspirational' - Independent
'Exhilarating 。。。 An entirely new way of looking at almost everything' - Guardian
'A huge diversity of bright ideas' - Financial Times
'Johnson finds new and original things to say about the nature of innovation， and the different forms it can take' - Economist， Books of the Year
'An enthralling work full of counter-intuitive insights' - Daily Mail
Steven Johnson is the author of the acclaimed books Everything Bad is Good for You， Mind Wide Open， Emergence and Interface Culture。 His writing appeared in the Guardian， the New Yorker， Nation and Harper's， as well as the op-ed pages of The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal。 He is a Distinguished Writer In Residence at NYU's School Of Journalism， and a Contributing Editor to Wired。
Reviews
Warwick Stubbs
，
Could have been better。 And the small print with wide line spacing didn't help。 Could have been better。 And the small print with wide line spacing didn't help。 。。。more
Mark Barnes
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Johnson’s How We Got to Now is one of my favorite books。 While thought-provoking in spots， this one fell short for me。 The chapters on exaptation and platforms， alone， make the book a worthwhile read。 The rest， though， feels a bit uneven and confused。
NgocAnh
，
Steven gives lots of clear examples on how good ideas come not from 1 person sitting quietly in 1 corner and good ideas suddenly strikes him like lightning， but come from accumulated thinking and collaboration and thoughts being pulled together。 It helps me a lot in my day to day work where I constantly need to come up with good ideas， it's better to read and listen more， discuss and exchange ideas with others， and expand on existing ideas rather than just sitting alone and dreaming to achieve s Steven gives lots of clear examples on how good ideas come not from 1 person sitting quietly in 1 corner and good ideas suddenly strikes him like lightning， but come from accumulated thinking and collaboration and thoughts being pulled together。 It helps me a lot in my day to day work where I constantly need to come up with good ideas， it's better to read and listen more， discuss and exchange ideas with others， and expand on existing ideas rather than just sitting alone and dreaming to achieve something revolutionary out of the blue。 。。。more
Anjana Vijay
，
Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson is a descriptive， example-driven book that determines that ideas are primarily spawned from networks。 Steven here explores the “emergence theory，” explaining precisely how Google， Facebook， and even Wikipedia successfully achieved to attain in both， scope and scale， only in a couple of years。 This lesson can practically be applied to any kind of business。 Johnson’s book also debunks many myths about innovation。 There are really two core thoughts in th Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson is a descriptive， example-driven book that determines that ideas are primarily spawned from networks。 Steven here explores the “emergence theory，” explaining precisely how Google， Facebook， and even Wikipedia successfully achieved to attain in both， scope and scale， only in a couple of years。 This lesson can practically be applied to any kind of business。 Johnson’s book also debunks many myths about innovation。 There are really two core thoughts in this book: One， innovations are best modelled as ideas。 Meaning， they don't pop into existence but instead， each idea is formed by the process of mixing elements from previous ideas or by slight improvement。 And， Two - these innovations don't happen in sudden eureka moments inside the mind of one person， but instead， happen over time through "slow hunches"。Throughout the book， the author presents some biological theories and facts to support the idea of innovation。 Evidence invoked to support his argument consists of nature metaphors and historical anecdotes; he offers interesting connections and analyses。 The book contains a handful of interesting theories for people seeking to boost creativity at work or at play。 It has some real piece of advice on getting any business run。 It will inspire you to experiment， mingle， and explore more — as a scholar， teacher， advocate， writer， or businessperson。 。。。more
Marco Leonesio
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Molto veri i meccanismi descritti。 Un po' ripetitivo in alcune sue parti。 Molto veri i meccanismi descritti。 Un po' ripetitivo in alcune sue parti。 。。。more
Fernando Palau
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Sorprendente ensayo o novela formativa que explica como las ideas y los inventos necesitan de tiempo para crearse， redes de colaboración， plataformas de recursos como punto de partida， errores。。。 plantea la interconexión como clave de la innovación y aunque no la desacredita le resta importancia a la competencia capitalista。
Melania Andrisan
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Oh。。。 this book made me remember the power of collaboration， of bouncing ideas with people around you， of picking up an idea and build on it and how important is to write down all of them。
Diego Bontosso
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Good book， fast read。
Andrew
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Parents， sales reps， truck drivers， pastors， teachers， and nurses are always looking for good ideas。 So are writers—ideas for blogs， for plot lines， for characters， for humor， for titles， for openings， for closings。 Steven Johnson’s Where Good Ideas Come From， happily enough， offers （wait for it） good ideas on how to find good ideas。One common notion he hopes to correct is that ideas mostly come when sitting alone under a tree waiting for an apple to fall on our head。 He shows by anecdote and wi Parents， sales reps， truck drivers， pastors， teachers， and nurses are always looking for good ideas。 So are writers—ideas for blogs， for plot lines， for characters， for humor， for titles， for openings， for closings。 Steven Johnson’s Where Good Ideas Come From， happily enough， offers （wait for it） good ideas on how to find good ideas。One common notion he hopes to correct is that ideas mostly come when sitting alone under a tree waiting for an apple to fall on our head。 He shows by anecdote and with historical data that more ideas come in collaboration than in isolation。Generating ideas is a social activity。 By this he doesn’t mean the traditional brainstorming session。 Rather creativity comes by being connected to multiple people with varied interests in diverse settings。 If our interest is biology， we should not just go deeper into botany but dabble in architecture， web design， the arts， and economics which will give us new perspectives for our biological studies。In chapter 11 of Write Better I likewise emphasize the importance of expanding our range of interests， experiences， and social connections to enhance creativity。 Johnson doubles down on this last dimension。 More ideas come in the coffee shop with friends or in the hallway with colleagues than when we are alone， staring at a screen。 Thus studies have shown that， on average， large cities are three times more creative than small towns （pp。 10-11）。Johnson also considers two ways ideas arise。 One is in the “Eureka moment” that I focus on in Write Better。 The second is “the slow hunch” pattern of idea generation。 That is， we muse over a puzzling observation for a period of months or even years before a solution emerges in bits and pieces， rather than all at once。 In either case， interacting with many different perspectives， subjects， and people is central to the solution。 Looking for good ideas？ Read widely， not just in one area。 Explore a variety of experiences。 And mix it up with friends， colleagues， and other writers。 Find people with different interests to see what is exciting them。 。。。more
Jordan
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Excellent look at the human work of thought and how we can structure our study/notes/thoughts to produce more insights。 There are a number of assumptions loaded through the book， especially at the end， that deserve to be challenged （I’m looking at you Schumpeter）。 Still， well worth the read as long as you know there is some kool-aid that you need to not take on face value。
Samir Ghosh
，
Fantastic。 Shattering our incorrect perceptions of creativity （e。g。， the flash of a lightbulb above a sole mind）。
Clare O'Brien
，
I think “how we got to now” covers a lot of the same material but more condensed and engaging。 There’s a lot of ideas here， but it really rambles to get us there and is sometimes hard to follow。copying from another review for my own reference on key takeaways:The Adjacent Possible• Good ideas are constrained by the “parts” （physical or conceptual materials） and skills that surround them。• Ideas are limited by the “adjacent possible”; the realm of options made reachable by previous ideas。• The be I think “how we got to now” covers a lot of the same material but more condensed and engaging。 There’s a lot of ideas here， but it really rambles to get us there and is sometimes hard to follow。copying from another review for my own reference on key takeaways:The Adjacent Possible• Good ideas are constrained by the “parts” （physical or conceptual materials） and skills that surround them。• Ideas are limited by the “adjacent possible”; the realm of options made reachable by previous ideas。• The best environments for creating good ideas are those that help people expose the adjacent possible， by exposing a diverse sample of mechanical or conceptual parts， and encouraging novel ways of recombining them。• Bad environments punish experimentation， obscure branches of possibility， and make the current state so satisfying that no one explores。• To have good ideas， don’t sit in isolation and think big thoughts; get more “parts” on the table。Liquid NetworksIt’s not the wisdom of the crowd， but the wisdom of someone in the crowd。 Individuals get smarter because they’re connected to a social network。The Slow HunchHunches need space and time to evolve。SerendipityHow to trigger serendipitous thoughts: go for a walk， take a shower or bath， read， get away from work and tasks。ErrorsErrors force us to rethink our biases and contemplate alternatives， spurring innovation。ExaptationGreat innovators have many hobbies， and ideas from different projects make connections that lead to insights。The Fourth Quadrant• “Market-based competition has no monopoly on innovation。 Competition and the profit motive do indeed motivate us to turn good ideas into shipping products， but more often than not， the ideas themselves come from somewhere else。”• From the 1800s on， innovation has increasingly taken place in collaborative groups （“collective invention”）， inside and outside the market。• Why do some good ideas flourish without economic incentives？ Non-market environments are more efficient because they’re more open than market environments， which have barriers like copyright， patents， and trade secrets。 People can focus on creating new ideas rather than spend time and money protecting old ones。 。。。more
Daniel Maurath
，
Invaluable An enlightening read that offers both the history and clearest definition of innovation that I have read。 So many highlights due to so many “A Has”。 And so much to take away from this book and hopefully recombine into my own innovation。 Looking forward to reading his other books。
Jesse Coker
，
A little simplistic and definitely dated at this point， but the final chapter takes it up to 4 stars。 A passionate and well-reasoned defense of open innovation。
Larry Farren
，
What a great book。 Some parts of books I find boring but not this one。 It takes me back to when I read books as a child that thrilled me with knowledge。
Ernestas Poskus
，
This is the rare moment when book has a generic title but outstanding content。 Book is full of interesting facts， author dives through history to explain related causalities that sparked inventions of modern times。
Amáñ Motha
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Interesting and Informative ReadWell written
David
，
I only read the first 70 pages so read the review with that in mind。 I was hoping to learn more about the theory of where good ideas come from。 I felt Johnson backed into his theory by reviewing successful projects， studying the process than saying see how it happened。 The project development is interesting but little is really learned， in my humble opinion， about the process。
Renato Fonseca
，
Um livro estimulante， tem ótimas analogias comparando as cadeias de inovação humanas com a natureza， como recifes e corais。 O foco é dele é muito mais nos fatores que tornam as inovações mais prováveis do que no aspecto individual。 É inspirador para organizações e pessoas pensarem em como se tornarem mais inovadoras。
Daniela D
，
A fabulous book swiftly building on a variety of theories and patterns that indicate where ideas come from。 Johnson makes the case for three key things: 1） networks， or the fact that you need a variety of diverse information in order to come up with better ideas or to connect things that might work better， you should be a serial tasker working on multiple and unrelated projects; and copyrights and patents really disturb the efficiency of networks， ideas are really around and everywhere and not u A fabulous book swiftly building on a variety of theories and patterns that indicate where ideas come from。 Johnson makes the case for three key things: 1） networks， or the fact that you need a variety of diverse information in order to come up with better ideas or to connect things that might work better， you should be a serial tasker working on multiple and unrelated projects; and copyrights and patents really disturb the efficiency of networks， ideas are really around and everywhere and not unusual for several people to come up with similar solutions within the same decade 2） slow hunches， or obsess about something or a few different things to keep in the back of your head because you never know when you might get some pertinent information or knowledge that will help you answer that hunch 3） timing - although the idea of timing is not explicitly described， it comes up multiple times throughout the book and it is quite clear that great ideas that are ahead of their time are harder to be executed and picked up by their audiences， however they can linger and as the technology improves， the implementation becomes increasingly easier and more possible。 。。。more
Omar Ahmad
，
Intellectual Digressions: One of those meandering reads which takes its reader on a tortuous path across various domains on an epic quest to discover the terra incognita of ideas。 The journey does culminate with the reader feeling somewhat enlightened than before and / or agreeing with the author for the plain logic inherent in his work。 The following passage is testament to the sheer power of innovation:''West and his team discovered another power law lurking in their immense database of urban Intellectual Digressions: One of those meandering reads which takes its reader on a tortuous path across various domains on an epic quest to discover the terra incognita of ideas。 The journey does culminate with the reader feeling somewhat enlightened than before and / or agreeing with the author for the plain logic inherent in his work。 The following passage is testament to the sheer power of innovation:''West and his team discovered another power law lurking in their immense database of urban statistics。 Every data point that involved creativity and innovation—patents， R&D budgets， "supercreative" professions， inventors—also followed a quarter-power law， in a way that was every bit as predictable as Kleiber's law。 But there was one fundamental difference: the quarter-power law governing innovation was positive， not negative。 A city that was ten times larger than its neighbor wasn't ten times more innovative; it was seventeen times more innovative。 A metropolis fifty times bigger than a town was 130 times more innovative。 Kleiber's law proved that as life gets bigger， it slows down。 But West's model demonstrated one crucial way in which human-built cities broke from the patterns of biological life: as cities get bigger， they generate ideas at a faster clip。 This is what we call "superlinear scaling": if creativity scaled with size in a straight， linear fashion， you would of course find more patents and inventions in a larger city， but the number of patents and inventions per capita would be stable。 West's power laws suggested something far more provocative: that despite all the noise and crowding and distraction， the average resident of a metropolis with a population of five million people was almost three times more creative than the average resident of a town of a hundred thousand。 "Great cities are not like towns only larger，" Jane Jacobs wrote nearly fifty years ago。 West's positive quarter power law gave that insight a mathematical foundation。 Something about the environment of a big city was making its residents significantly more innovative than residents of smaller towns。 But what was it？" 。。。more
Ken Diep
，
There are nine lessons on where good ideas come from and this is where the book suffers， in my view。 The structure lacks a bit of cohesion and the evidence could be developed more。 Sometimes the anecdotes felt a bit circumstantial and not wholly linked to the lesson。 That being said， there are insights scattered throughout and I think it could be a useful springboard if the reader cares to explore the referenced material。
Ben Letton
，
The book verges on repetitive at points， which as it turns out is a useful and deliberate choice。The author coins the term "adjacent possible" which means， when one discovery happens， other possibilities may reveal themselves， if they can be connected。 Ideas need contact with other ideas e。g。 a connection between wine making and publishing had to come into contact to create the possibility of the printing press （the connection being Johannes Gutenberg）。 There are many many more examples。Ideas do The book verges on repetitive at points， which as it turns out is a useful and deliberate choice。The author coins the term "adjacent possible" which means， when one discovery happens， other possibilities may reveal themselves， if they can be connected。 Ideas need contact with other ideas e。g。 a connection between wine making and publishing had to come into contact to create the possibility of the printing press （the connection being Johannes Gutenberg）。 There are many many more examples。Ideas do not appear out of nowhere， sometimes they just appear to， and sometimes， when they do， like Babbages computation engine， the time needs to be right for them to get traction （computers are a great idea， just not practical in his age）。 So， to increase the opportunity of "discovering" a new adjacent possible， you need to cultivate a broad selection of inputs。 If innovation is important then measures that silo information （patents， private knowledge） need to be reduced。 As Cory Doctorow said， information wants to be free。 。。。more
Dani O
，
Pretty much 10 or so regular ideas on what causes innovation padded around 300 pages of historical storytelling fluff that most of us already have already heard。 I was hoping for a scientific analysis of the psychology and methods behind innovating instead I got a redundant history lesson。
Nicky Chalabi
，
Truly enjoyed this book even though a lot has changed since the date it has been published。 I believe the ideas still apply to the current realms。 I just wish that the book was organised in a more coherent manner。 The author seems to jump around frequently。 Moreover， I wish that the examples were more contemporary and depicted more specimen from startups and current research。 This book relies a lot on the work done by Darwin and his theory of evolution。 True that this research was riveting， fasc Truly enjoyed this book even though a lot has changed since the date it has been published。 I believe the ideas still apply to the current realms。 I just wish that the book was organised in a more coherent manner。 The author seems to jump around frequently。 Moreover， I wish that the examples were more contemporary and depicted more specimen from startups and current research。 This book relies a lot on the work done by Darwin and his theory of evolution。 True that this research was riveting， fascinating and absorbing; nevertheless， the focus could have been shifted to more modern examples :） 。。。more
Zohair
，
This is a thought provoking read and has a lot of lessons to teach。 It does get a bit tedious towards the end。 I found the last innovation process was a bit of a reach and was only added to make it a nice sounding collection of seven。 Some of the examples used are a bit weak。 But this shouldnt negate the message of the book。
Cyndi
，
Great book。 It was assigned reading for an advanced research and program evaluation course in my doctoral program。 I thought it was a great fit for the systemic nature of the program。 It really leaves you reflecting on various factors that influence innovation。 I love the real life， tangible examples of innovation that has both thrived and failed over the years。 It left me feeling encouraged and motivated as I prepare to enter the dissertation phase of my program。
Ahmed Shadi
，
If you are in need of good ideas， and I think most of us do。 Then this book will help you know the theories behind getting good ideas。 It lacks clarification on the implementation part， but that's where you can get creative and think about how you can implement each theory and make it part of your daily life。 If you are in need of good ideas， and I think most of us do。 Then this book will help you know the theories behind getting good ideas。 It lacks clarification on the implementation part， but that's where you can get creative and think about how you can implement each theory and make it part of your daily life。 。。。more
Debbie Howell
，
This is a good study of the environments that best lend themselves to innovation。 I liked the way the author illustrated each concept with an example from nature， from coral reefs to beaver dams， then showed how that concept plays out in human activity through history。 It was interesting to read how developments in communication and technology through the years have shifted innovation from being an individual endeavor （e。g。， genius inventors like Leonardo da Vinci） to a more collaborative phenom This is a good study of the environments that best lend themselves to innovation。 I liked the way the author illustrated each concept with an example from nature， from coral reefs to beaver dams， then showed how that concept plays out in human activity through history。 It was interesting to read how developments in communication and technology through the years have shifted innovation from being an individual endeavor （e。g。， genius inventors like Leonardo da Vinci） to a more collaborative phenomenon。 Information flow， open platforms， and sharing of ideas lend themselves to new solutions， although the occasional solo genius still comes along now and then。 Steven Johnson's writing is cohesive and accessible; he follows through on his main themes all the way through the book， building on them in such a way that I didn't have to keep flipping back to earlier chapters to recall an earlier idea。 A serious but interesting study of how we think creatively， and how we echo the processes of nature in doing so。 。。。more
Jonathan Cedillo
，