Productivity Depends a Lot More on Exploring Than Exploring

The data scientists looked at whether the similarity metric during the exploratory lead-up phase came to look more like the work produced during the creator's hot streak. They found that successful style of work was less likely to resemble the most recent or the most popular in the exploratory phase. In short, they were just testing things out. The message is clear: Let your explorations be truly unencumbered, then, when you found something that works, make the most of it.