This chapter highlights the significance of capturing fleeting ideas and hunches through a spark file, emphasizing the importance of the long incubation period and dispelling misconceptions around creativity being solely based on eureka moments. It also explores the value of surprise and storing away unexplained things for future exploration.
Steven Johnson has studied LLM technology for over 35 years. His consensus? Large Language models and human creativity aren’t at odds. They’re at their best when they work in harmony.
Johnson has written thirteen books, many of which explore how tools and technologies expand what humans are capable of and transform societies. He created NotebookLM to help writers use AI to supplement their creative process — not to replace their thinking, but to amplify it.
In this episode, you’ll learn how to capture ideas without friction, how to seamlessly structure your work, how to leverage the element of surprise, and how to turn sheer information into unique insight — all while using AI, of course.
Ultimately, you’ll soak up Johnson’s 35 years of expertise and come away with actionable steps to make your writing process faster and your insights more surprising.