#ThinkfullyHabit: Ask yourself - "Where else have I seen this?"
Try drawing from your past experiences, hobbies or interests or looking for inspiration in completely new areas of life. This simple question is a great way to open your mind to think about your challenges in new ways.
“Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses - especially learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else.”
WHY?
Asking the question "Where else have I seen this?" has led to many fascinating breakthroughs. Take the example of the bullet train;
High-speed trains in Japan used to produce a shotgun-like thunderclap that could be heard a quarter of a mile away – as they emerged from tunnels, the sudden change in air resistance from closed tunnel to open sky caused a sonic boom! It wasn’t until Eiji Nakatsu, technical development manager, asked the question "Where else have I seen this?" that he discovered an example that was adapted to such conditions.
An avid bird-watcher, Nakatsu recalled how the Kingfisher is able to dive at high speed into water with barely a ripple. After further study, he discovered that the Kingfisher’s wedge-shaped beak is what allows their splash-less entry – if they had a rounded beak it would push water ahead of it and scare off its prey! Nakatsu redesigned the bullet train’s nose to a 50-foot-long steel ‘beak’ which reduced the turbulence that caused the initial noise problem, and in turn made the trains more efficient and faster!
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