The Second Definition of Idea

We currently have one definition of an idea which is as follows:

“An idea is an answer to a problem.”

From there we went and derived the Joke Problem (How to state something in a funny way?) and the Joke Idea (One possible answer to the Joke Problem).

Sadly these definitions still leave us with no clue on how to actually get Joke Ideas. That’s where the second definition of an idea comes into play.

The advertising executive James Webb Young defined an idea as follows:

“An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements.”

Which is wonderful news because it tells us exactly how having an idea works: Gathering elements and combining them in new ways until we have an idea. Or in our case: Until something strikes us as funny.

And compared to daydreaming and hoping to get a flash of inspiration, gathering and combining elements is something we can actively do and control. And even better: What is a joke than a combination of old elements?

“There’s nothing so tragic as seeing a family pulled apart by something as simple as a pack of wolves.”

This joke is simply the combination of two old elements: What we first think of when we hear that a family was pulled apart and the literal interpretation of being pulled apart. In this case by a pack of wolves.

But what is the best way to go about finding and combining elements? Let’s take a look at another book, shall we?