Quantity first: generate the most ideas possible before evaluating any

The best way to have a good idea is to have many ideas — originality rises with volume, so generate recklessly before selecting.

Why it works

Expert judgment, applied too early in a creative session, narrows the search to the most immediately plausible options — which are also the most familiar ones. Deferring judgment until a large quantity of ideas has been generated keeps the creative search in the less-familiar regions of the space, where more original ideas are statistically more likely to be found. This is Linus Pauling’s principle: you cannot predict which idea will be good, so generate many.

How to do it

1. Set a quantity target before you start: 20 ideas, 30 headlines, 15 solutions.
2. Write each idea as it arrives without pausing to evaluate it.
3. When you feel stuck, lower the bar: half-ideas, fragment-ideas, and bad ideas all count.
4. Evaluate only after the target quantity is reached.

Evidence

Generative fluency research consistently finds that later ideas are rated more original than earlier ones; deferring evaluation until higher quantities are reached increases the probability that the final selection includes more original work. (observational)

Brainstorming group research shows complex results; the quantity-before-quality principle is best supported for individual generation. Group brainstorming without process intervention frequently underperforms nominal groups (individuals working alone).

Sources

• Mednick (1962), associative basis of the creative process, Psychological Review

Common mistake

Stopping at the first three or four ideas that seem good and treating the quantity phase as done — the original ideas are almost always deeper in the list, not at the front.