“Space of possibility”

“Space of possibility” is a compelling piece of phrasing to describe what is possible for one to creatively connect two disparate concepts. According to Beau Lotto, one can’t connect two concepts lying far apart in space because those two the items are not within our space of possibility. We haven’t lived the experiences to be able to connect those two items.

As I understand him, in order for us to survive in this world, we build up a large store of assumptions, based upon our lived experiences and upon our ancestral experiences embedded in our DNA (this ancestral concept was in another one of his videos). These assumptions drive how we perceive the world. Everything we see, think, or believe in our world is driven by our experiences. Beau Lotto, in another video, displayed some examples showing how our perceptions can be altered by context. Sometimes the mere suggestion can nudge how we perceive things in a certain direction.

He says our brain does not make large leaps; instead, our brain takes small steps, jumping from idea to idea. So, when someone apparently makes a connection between two highly disparate items, to us it appears the person has creatively connected the two items whereas the reality is the person has a different lived experience, and thus a different space of possibility, to enable him to make the connection. For that creator, it is just a small step; for us, it’s a giant leap.

This “space of possibility” concept may be partially behind the drive for diversity in race and intelligence and whatever else in the inclusion world. There is an advantage in having as many viewpoints as possible to generate new creative ideas, not to mention that it is more just and fair to widen the opportunities to more people.

This following YouTube video that I have chosen is one of the shorter ones but there are many others that are longer and provides a fuller explanation of his thinking on perception, creativity and space of possibility. This Big Think version is a snapshot of other fuller presentations he has done, where he gives numerous examples of how our perceptions are affected.

So, why am I writing about this? Well, my success in my career has been due to applying new ideas to my work processes or my presentation of analyses or information. I am always trying to find out what people are devising that is revolutionary or cutting edge to see if I can make use of it in my work. By keeping up with technology and ideas and creatively applying them, I have been able to set my teams or my work “ahead of the curve”, so to speak. I’m doing stuff before anyone else is.

Beau Lotto’s insight suggests I have to keep expanding my “space of possibilities” to continue to drive my own “small” innovations.