Ideas have to come from somewhere, and, for both humans and machines, those somewheres are often the words and images we’ve absorbed.

I’m reminded of the Grimms’ fairy tale “The Elves and the Shoemaker.” A poor but gifted shoemaker is barely keeping his business afloat. He has the talent, but not enough time or resources. Enter a band of cheerful, i... See more

There are little ideas and big ones, their size determined by how much they rearrange our understanding—of the world or of ourselves. Some ideas are about forging connections, like Luke’s insight about disentanglement. Others work through analogy: hearing a story in one context and rewriting it for another. We use what we understand to make sense o... See more