--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An idea is nothing more nor less than a…" description: "\"An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements.\" — James Webb Young" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/james-webb-young-35828_combination_an-idea-is-nothing-more-nor-less-than-a_287145.png" --- # An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of… ![“An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements.” quote by James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/james-webb-young-35828_combination_an-idea-is-nothing-more-nor-less-than-a_287145.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/james-webb-young-35828_combination_an-idea-is-nothing-more-nor-less-than-a_287145.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/james-webb-young-35828_combination_an-idea-is-nothing-more-nor-less-than-a_287145.png) > “An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements.” [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Innovation is recombining existing elements in novel ways. **In simple terms:** New ideas remix old ones. Key Takeaway Combine old concepts creatively. Themes innovation creativity problem solving Mood analytical inspirational Type educational practical When to use this quote - research - product development - artistic creation Key Concepts cognitive synthesis analogical thinking design thinking Questions to Reflect On - What old ideas can you recombine today? - How does this method differ from pure invention? A Different Perspective Relying on old elements may limit breakthrough originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [“An idea is nothing more or less than a new combination of old elements (Quoted from Vilfredo Pareto)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/an-idea-is-nothing-more-or-less-than-a-new-combination-of-old/) [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) > [Each new machine or technique, in a sense, changes all existing machines and techniques, by permitting us to put them together into new combinations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-toffler/each-new-machine-or-technique-in-a-sense-changes-all-existing/) [Alvin Toffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-toffler/) > [My studio is a fantastic combination of old and new, and that's how I've always liked to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/my-studio-is-a-fantastic-combination-of-old-and-new-and-that-s-how-i/) [Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/) > [Invention, strictly speaking, is little more than a new combination of those images which have been previously gathered and deposited in the memory; nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/invention-strictly-speaking-is-little-more-than-a-new-combination-of/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [If there's a new idea, a new invention, or a new gas, or a new whatever you know, It should be brought at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-hendrix/if-there-s-a-new-idea-a-new-invention-or-a-new-gas-or-a-new-whatever/) [Jimi Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-hendrix/) > [Democracy is not static. It is a living force. Every new idea, every new invention offers opportunity for both good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/democracy-is-not-static-it-is-a-living-force-every-new-idea-every-new/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [I don't need to feel 100% safe, but I have to feel like there's room for me to go a little bit insane if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/i-don-t-need-to-feel-100-safe-but-i-have-to-feel-like-there-s-room/) [Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/) > [If we would change the basis and align what is taught in school with what is needed with business... that's where I came up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginni-rometty/if-we-would-change-the-basis-and-align-what-is-taught-in-school-with/) [Ginni Rometty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginni-rometty/) > [The vitality of thought is in adventure. Ideas won't keep. Something must be done about them. When the idea is new, its custodians have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-vitality-of-thought-is-in-adventure-ideas-won-t-keep-something/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Don't look back. Just go ahead. Give ideas away. Under every idea there's a new idea waiting to be born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-vreeland/don-t-look-back-just-go-ahead-give-ideas-away-under-every-idea-there/) [Diana Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-vreeland/) > [Young people get the foolish idea that what is new for them must be new for everybody else too. No matter how unconventional they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/young-people-get-the-foolish-idea-that-what-is-new-for-them-must-be/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [A good idea for a new business tends not to occur in isolation, and often the window of opportunity is very small. So speed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/a-good-idea-for-a-new-business-tends-not-to-occur-in-isolation-and/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [The idea of a new hero for a new day sang to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-hawkins/the-idea-of-a-new-hero-for-a-new-day-sang-to-me/) [Corey Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-hawkins/) > [Every year, there's a new idea we can't do and a new technology for something that excites us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-howard/every-year-there-s-a-new-idea-we-can-t-do-and-a-new-technology-for/) [Todd Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-howard/) > [If I do something for a public space, it's not something that I have in my head and go, "Oh that's a good location.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-buren/if-i-do-something-for-a-public-space-it-s-not-something-that-i-have/) [Daniel Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-buren/) ## More by James Webb Young > [Drop the whole subject and put it out of your mind and let your subconscious do its thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/drop-the-whole-subject-and-put-it-out-of-your-mind-and-let-your/) [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) > [Thus, words being symbols of ideas, we can collect ideas by collecting words. The fellow who said he tried reading the dictionary but couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/thus-words-being-symbols-of-ideas-we-can-collect-ideas-by-collecting/) [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) > [“An idea is nothing more or less than a new combination of old elements (Quoted from Vilfredo Pareto)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/an-idea-is-nothing-more-or-less-than-a-new-combination-of-old/) [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) > [“Riding horseback along a country lane I saw wild roses in bloom, against an old stone wall. The expensive, improved varieties in my garden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/riding-horseback-along-a-country-lane-i-saw-wild-roses-in-bloom/) [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) > [This use of advertising - to add a subjective value to the product - becomes increasingly important as the trends in our technology lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/this-use-of-advertising-to-add-a-subjective-value-to-the-product/) [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) > [We tend to forget that words are, themselves, ideas. They might be called ideas in a state of suspended animation. When the words are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/we-tend-to-forget-that-words-are-themselves-ideas-they-might-be/) [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) > [Do not make the mistake of holding your idea close to your chest… Submit it to the criticism of the judicious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/do-not-make-the-mistake-of-holding-your-idea-close-to-your-chest/) [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) > [Every really good creative person in advertising has always had two noticeable characteristics. First, there was no subject he could not easily get interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/every-really-good-creative-person-in-advertising-has-always-had-two/) [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) > [Particular bits of knowledge are nothing, because they are made up of what Dr. Robert Hutchins once called rapidly aging facts. Principles and method…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/particular-bits-of-knowledge-are-nothing-because-they-are-made-up-of/) [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) > [A good idea has self-expanding qualities. It stimulates those who see it to add to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/a-good-idea-has-self-expanding-qualities-it-stimulates-those-who-see/) [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) > [And so, while perhaps not all God's chilluns got wings, enough have for each of us to hope that we may be among those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/and-so-while-perhaps-not-all-god-s-chilluns-got-wings-enough-have-for/) [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) > [The habit of mind which leads to a search for relationships between facts becomes of the highest importance in the production of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/the-habit-of-mind-which-leads-to-a-search-for-relationships-between/) [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) [Explore all 13 James Webb Young quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) ## More Combination quotes > [Anytime there is any lyrical meaning or combination in my mixes, it's very blatant. I'm not trying to make any statement or anything like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/girl-talk/anytime-there-is-any-lyrical-meaning-or-combination-in-my-mixes-it-s/) [Girl Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/girl-talk/) > [We do not claim that punning is legitimate wit. Wit consists in combination of ideas, punning in combination of words only. We wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-hosmer/we-do-not-claim-that-punning-is-legitimate-wit-wit-consists-in/) [Harriet Hosmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-hosmer/) > [A successful director is someone who has the combination of skills that you can learn, but there's also an intuitive sensibility that they bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-heinrichs/a-successful-director-is-someone-who-has-the-combination-of-skills/) [Rick Heinrichs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-heinrichs/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [The combination of such characters, some, as the sacral ones, altogether peculiar among Reptiles, others borrowed, as it were, from groups now distinct from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/the-combination-of-such-characters-some-as-the-sacral-ones-altogether/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [Henry Kissinger may have wished I had presented him as a combination of Charles DeGaulle and Disraeli, but I didn't…out of respect for DeGaulle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/henry-kissinger-may-have-wished-i-had-presented-him-as-a-combination/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [A combination of the qualities of the scholar, the master cook, the painter, the gastronomer, the sportsman and the pantologist, assisted by the skill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ellwanger/a-combination-of-the-qualities-of-the-scholar-the-master-cook-the/) [George Ellwanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ellwanger/) > [I did play a lot of fingerstyle when I first started playing. I could never really find the right combination of flatpick or fingerpick,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/i-did-play-a-lot-of-fingerstyle-when-i-first-started-playing-i-could/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) Peter Martins > [A thorough understanding of the typical mating continuations makes the most complicated sacrificial combinations leading up to them not only not difficult, but almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegbert-tarrasch/a-thorough-understanding-of-the-typical-mating-continuations-makes/) [Siegbert Tarrasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegbert-tarrasch/) > [I am a combination of my entire family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dionne-warwick/i-am-a-combination-of-my-entire-family/) [Dionne Warwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dionne-warwick/) > [As I work day after day, inspirations from different places go into the work. It's combination, but it's also comparative. I'll be reading two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-banisadr/as-i-work-day-after-day-inspirations-from-different-places-go-into/) [Ali Banisadr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-banisadr/) > [Emile Zola was a poor student at his school at Aix. We are all so different largely because we all have different combinations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/emile-zola-was-a-poor-student-at-his-school-at-aix-we-are-all-so/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [“the previous weeks – a combination of being”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-previous-weeks-a-combination-of-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 1,578 Combination quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Webb Young" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/an-idea-is-nothing-more-nor-less-than-a-new-combination-of-old/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Combination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/an-idea-is-nothing-more-nor-less-than-a-new-combination-of-old/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/james-webb-young-35828_combination_an-idea-is-nothing-more-nor-less-than-a_287145.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/james-webb-young-35828_combination_an-idea-is-nothing-more-nor-less-than-a_287145.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/james-webb-young-35828_combination_an-idea-is-nothing-more-nor-less-than-a_287145.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements.” — James Webb Young", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "James Webb Young", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An idea is nothing more nor...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/an-idea-is-nothing-more-nor-less-than-a-new-combination-of-old/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/an-idea-is-nothing-more-nor-less-than-a-new-combination-of-old/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```