--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you go back and look at the historical…" description: "\"“If you go back and look at the historical record, it turns out that a lot of important ideas have very long incubation periods. I call this the ‘slow ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/douglas-rushkoff-2188_creativity_if-you-go-back-and-look-at-the-historica_2420491.png" --- # If you go back and look at the historical record, it turns… ![“If you go back and look at the historical record, it turns out that a lot of important ideas have very long incubation periods. I call this the ‘slow hunch.’ We’ve heard a lot recently about hunch and instinct and blink-like sudden moments of clarity, but in fact, a lot of great ideas linger on…” quote by Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/douglas-rushkoff-2188_creativity_if-you-go-back-and-look-at-the-historica_2420491.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/douglas-rushkoff-2188_creativity_if-you-go-back-and-look-at-the-historica_2420491.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/douglas-rushkoff-2188_creativity_if-you-go-back-and-look-at-the-historica_2420491.png) > ““If you go back and look at the historical record, it turns out that a lot of important ideas have very long incubation periods. I call this the ‘slow hunch.’ We’ve heard a lot recently about hunch and instinct and blink-like sudden moments of clarity, but in fact, a lot of great ideas linger on, sometimes for decades, in the back of people’s minds. They have a feeling that there’s an interesting problem, but they don’t quite have the tools yet to discover them.” Solving the problem means being in the right place at the right time—available to the propitious moment, the kairos. Perhaps counterintuitively, protecting what is left of this flow from the pressing obligation of new choices gives us a leg up on innovation.”” [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great ideas often develop slowly, needing time and the right moment to surface, rather than sudden insight. **In simple terms:** Ideas incubate over long periods. Key Takeaway Give ideas time to mature. Themes innovation patience creativity Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - research projects - artistic creation - entrepreneurial ventures Key Concepts incubation kairos cognitive delay Questions to Reflect On - What ideas in your life need more patience? - How do you recognize a “slow hunch”? A Different Perspective Rushing can cause premature abandonment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Great ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-ideas/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Hunch Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunch-instinct-6124717/) [Ideas Linger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-linger-6124716/) [Ideas Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-long-2503811/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Kairos Counterintuitively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kairos-counterintuitively-6124718/) [Moments of clarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments-of-clarity/) [Right place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-place/) [Slow Hunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow-hunch-5179571/) ## Related quotes > [Keeping a slow hunch alive poses challenges on multiple scales. For starters, you have to preserve the hunch in your own memory, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-johnson/keeping-a-slow-hunch-alive-poses-challenges-on-multiple-scales-for/) [Steven Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-johnson/) > [It's ok if others share our ideas as long as they build upon them. It's called progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/it-s-ok-if-others-share-our-ideas-as-long-as-they-build-upon-them-it/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [Too many people run out of ideas long before they run out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/too-many-people-run-out-of-ideas-long-before-they-run-out-of-words/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have been writing stories and working on ideas for a long time. 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But there's never any making ends meet or finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/you-have-moments-of-clarity-things-become-clear-to-you-that-you-didn/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [It’s one of those things where when you’re training and fighting, you can’t worry about your bills, your mortgage, did you get your girlfriend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forrest-griffin/it-s-one-of-those-things-where-when-you-re-training-and-fighting-you/) [Forrest Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forrest-griffin/) > [I think the debate was really some powerful moments of clarity. We saw that Donald Trump, substantively, has the same issues on issue after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/i-think-the-debate-was-really-some-powerful-moments-of-clarity-we-saw/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [After you run, there's a sense of accomplishment; you feel like your life is meaningful. It's a moment of clarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sakyong-mipham/after-you-run-there-s-a-sense-of-accomplishment-you-feel-like-your/) [Sakyong Mipham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sakyong-mipham/) > [“I know there is a thin silver line between the sane and the insane, and even in that realm of madness, there are degrees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-cantrell/i-know-there-is-a-thin-silver-line-between-the-sane-and-the-insane/) [Julie Cantrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-cantrell/) > [There are moments of clarity daily. They open me up with a breath and keep me calm. They feed me the answers. And they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/there-are-moments-of-clarity-daily-they-open-me-up-with-a-breath-and/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) ## More by Douglas Rushkoff > [The first step toward maintaining autonomy in any programmed environment is to be aware that there's programming going on. It's as simple as understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/the-first-step-toward-maintaining-autonomy-in-any-programmed/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [Digital media are biased toward replication and storage. Our digital photos practically upload and post themselves on Facebook, and our most deleted e-mails tend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/digital-media-are-biased-toward-replication-and-storage-our-digital/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [“And spend they did. Money circulated faster and spread wider through its communities of use than at any other time in economic history.8 Workers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/and-spend-they-did-money-circulated-faster-and-spread-wider-through/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [Occupy Wall Street is meant more as a way of life that spreads through contagion, creates as many questions as it answers, aims to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/occupy-wall-street-is-meant-more-as-a-way-of-life-that-spreads/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [Time has always been used against us on a certain level. The invention of the clock made us accountable to the employer, gave us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/time-has-always-been-used-against-us-on-a-certain-level-the-invention/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [What makes a great standalone piece of hardware is not the same thing as what makes a great networking device. One can work as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/what-makes-a-great-standalone-piece-of-hardware-is-not-the-same-thing/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [Digiphrenia - how technology lets us be in more than one place - and self - at the same time. Drone pilots suffer more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/digiphrenia-how-technology-lets-us-be-in-more-than-one-place-and-self/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [A currency designed for long-term storage and investment doesn't do so well at encouraging transactions and exchange in the moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/a-currency-designed-for-long-term-storage-and-investment-doesn-t-do/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [Since the 1960s, mainstream media has searched out and co-opted the most authentic things it could find in youth culture, whether that was psychedelic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/since-the-1960s-mainstream-media-has-searched-out-and-co-opted-the/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [Children are being adultified because our economy is depending on them to make purchasing decisions. So they're essentially the victims of a marketing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/children-are-being-adultified-because-our-economy-is-depending-on/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [In spite of my own reservations about Bing's ability to convert Google users, I have to admit that the search engine does offer a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/in-spite-of-my-own-reservations-about-bing-s-ability-to-convert/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [“Limbic consonance is the little-known process through which the mood of a room changes when a happy or nervous person walks in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/limbic-consonance-is-the-little-known-process-through-which-the-mood/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [Think 'Game of Thrones.' In the old days, this sort of show might be considered bad writing. It doesn't really seem to be moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/think-game-of-thrones-in-the-old-days-this-sort-of-show-might-be/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [We have the alternative. "Do I want to be on the subway looking at these people, or do I want to be in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/we-have-the-alternative-do-i-want-to-be-on-the-subway-looking-at/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [Digiphrenia”—the way our media and technologies encourage us to be in more than one place at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/digiphrenia-the-way-our-media-and-technologies-encourage-us-to-be-in/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) [Explore all 180 Douglas Rushkoff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) [Andrei Amalrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-amalrik/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) [Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. 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