Idea generation is like skimming the water surface

By George ILIEV
CorporateNature Metaphor Series, No 70.

When one is facing a thinking task ahead, e.g. preparing a presentation or a talk, tunnel vision focuses the mind and commands it to collect talking points and ideas from diverse areas and walks of life. This process resembles the way a Black skimmer catches fish: by skimming the surface of the water in different directions until a fish enters its beak. Given that both ideas and little fishes are fleeting, time is of the essence: you need to record the ideas that occur to you promptly, while the bird has to snap its beak shut instantaneously when it touches a fish.

Socrates uses a similar metaphor by comparing the mind with an aviary in which the birds are pieces of knowledge. If you walk into the aviary and catch a bird, you are remembering an idea/thought from the past. It is important, though, to catch the right bird, just as it is important for the Black skimmer to catch fish rather than sticks floating in the water.

Black skimmer (Source: Wikipedia)