Chris Murphy · 23 April, 2021

There’s a lot to read on this page, so here’s a tl;dr so you know what’s coming:

Idea Factories is a three week, cohort-based course, focusing on improving your thinking, your creativity and your ability to drive innovation. The course harnesses the power of reading and writing that is organised through a personal knowledge management system.

You don't have to be a writer to benefit from this course. Rather I'll focus on the role that reading, writing – and systematic note-taking – can play in improving your thinking.

It’s Never Too Late to Learn

Writing is an incredibly beneficial skill and it’s never too late to learn it. Aaron Swartz thinks of writing as an extension of creativity.

Be curious. Read widely. Try new things. A lot of what people call intelligence boils down to curiosity. —Aaron Swartz

Overview

In this short course (three evenings, plus supplementary work), I’ll explore the process of ‘designing a mind’ through the creation of a latticework of mental models, fuelled by reading and writing. I’ll cover:

• the importance of designing a mind in an era of outsourcing and artificial intelligence;
• the need to prime the brain – through reading, watching, listening… – to ensure that your thinking is constantly evolving;
• the role that synthesis plays in the creation of a kaleidoscope of ideas;
• the benefits of sharing your outputs as a way to level up your thinking by opening it up to scrutiny; and
• an actionable strategy for developing an idea repository (commonplace book, or digital garden) bespoke to each learner.

Although there are many forms of input and output, I’ve focused on the importance of reading and writing as the backbone for the course, based on: feedback by existing members of The School of Design; and my own practice.