It's never totally new in the sense that it combines earlier ideas, but nonetheless that is how small and big advances happen. My brain keeps spinning, sometimes alone (when I wake up, usually), sometimes in group (brainstorming, discussion), and it looks for new ways to put together the pieces of the puzzle. It all happens behind the veil of consciousness. Just asking yourself a question starts your brain spinning, sometimes for minutes, sometimes for days and months. The puzzle pieces are the pieces of evidence we observe, and the picture is one allowing us to understand the world around us. Sometimes, a new idea combines many pieces and we feel the intense pleasure of Eureka, epiphany, as so many pieces finally seem to fit perfectly together.
