MONDAY BYTES —July 6, 2015
Essentially, the adjacent possible according to Johnson explains how new ideas are born: by building on “nearby” or adjacent ideas already out there.
in a Wall Street Journal article, Steven Johnson writes,
“The phrase captures both the limits and the creative potential of change and innovation.” and “The strange and beautiful truth about the adjacent possible is that its boundaries grow as you explore them. Each new combination opens up the possibility of other new combinations. Think of it as a house that magically expands with each door you open. You begin in a room with four doors, each leading to a new room that you haven’t visited yet. Once you open one of those doors and stroll into that room, three new doors appear, each leading to a brand-new room that you couldn’t have reached from your original starting point. Keep opening new doors and eventually you’ll have built a palace.”
What might this mean for you?
It’s the idea of building on what you already have and know and expanding your perspective and options by considering what is adjacent to or nearby (conceptually or even physically) that might be worth exploring.
In terms of your career opportunities, one way to explore the adjacent possible is to start networking, working your way outward from the people you already know and getting referrals from those people. In networking, be a good listener for possible unexpected and even unlikely opportunities.
Creativity demands fresh perspective and new input in order to make the adjacent possible flourish.
How might you apply the adjacent possible to your artistry?
A few weeks ago I heard the jazz singer/composer Theo Bleckmann and pianist/composer Uri Caine’s hallucinogenic version of Shumann’s Dichterliebe. This was the second time around I’ve heard these two reinvent this song cycle, taking the score and text as a platform from which to experiment with and manipulate timbres, reverb, and time, using looping and other tools to traverse a re-imagined Dichterleibe connecting the original with country, indie-folk, and pop styles.
Uri and Theo heard a wide range of adjacent possibilities in the original and with the connections/associations they found within each song, using these to build a vital, provocative and ultimately very moving performance.
Question or this week: What possibilities and opportunities are adjacent to you now? Set your mind to a broader perspective and see what new inspirations you find.
PS: I wrote about their Dichterlibe before when I heard it at their 2013 concert at the Neue Gallerie.
As always, I’d LOVE to hear what’s been working for you!
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