--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An idea is nothing more or less than a…" description: "\"“An idea is nothing more or less than a new combination of old elements (Quoted from Vilfredo Pareto)”\" — James Webb Young" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/james-webb-young-35828_idea-new_an-idea-is-nothing-more-or-less-than-a-n_741851.png" --- # An idea is nothing more or less than a new combination of… ![“An idea is nothing more or less than a new combination of old elements (Quoted from Vilfredo Pareto)” quote by James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/james-webb-young-35828_idea-new_an-idea-is-nothing-more-or-less-than-a-n_741851.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/james-webb-young-35828_idea-new_an-idea-is-nothing-more-or-less-than-a-n_741851.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/james-webb-young-35828_idea-new_an-idea-is-nothing-more-or-less-than-a-n_741851.png) > ““An idea is nothing more or less than a new combination of old elements (Quoted from Vilfredo Pareto)”” [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. An idea emerges by recombining existing concepts in novel ways. **In simple terms:** Ideas are new mixes of old things. Key Takeaway Combine old elements to spark innovation. Themes creativity innovation combination Mood inspired curious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - product design - writing - problem solving - marketing campaigns Key Concepts cognitive synthesis creative thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can you identify useful old elements? - What limits recombination? A Different Perspective May overlook the need for truly original insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/an-idea-is-nothing-more-nor-less-than-a-new-combination-of-old/) [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) > [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/) > [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/) > [A society can be Pareto optimal and still perfectly disgusting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/a-society-can-be-pareto-optimal-and-still-perfectly-disgusting/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [I am convinced that both markets and free trade are good, but the traditional answer that we give to students to explain why they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-romer/i-am-convinced-that-both-markets-and-free-trade-are-good-but-the/) [Paul Romer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-romer/) > [“Pareto's Law can be summarized as follows: 80% of the outputs result from 20% of the inputs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/pareto-s-law-can-be-summarized-as-follows-80-of-the-outputs-result/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“20% of management theories are responsible for 80% of results. That’s assuming the Pareto Principle makes the cut.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-lilly/20-of-management-theories-are-responsible-for-80-of-results-that-s/) [Ryan Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-lilly/) > [Pareto's Principle: you generally spend 80% of your time on 20% of the project.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-m-juran/pareto-s-principle-you-generally-spend-80-of-your-time-on-20-of-the/) [Joseph M. Juran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-m-juran/) > [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/) > [Young people get the foolish idea that what is new for them must be new for everybody else too. 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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/) > [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/) ## 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/) > [An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/an-idea-is-nothing-more-nor-less-than-a-new-combination-of-old/) [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/) > [“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. 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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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I am suspicious of the idea of a new paradigm, to use that word, an entirely new structure of the economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-suspicious-of-the-idea-of-a-new-paradigm-to-use-that-word-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 14 Idea New quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“An idea is nothing more or less than a new combination of old elements (Quoted from Vilfredo Pareto)”", "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-or-less-than-a-new-combination-of-old/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Idea New" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/an-idea-is-nothing-more-or-less-than-a-new-combination-of-old/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/james-webb-young-35828_idea-new_an-idea-is-nothing-more-or-less-than-a-n_741851.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/james-webb-young-35828_idea-new_an-idea-is-nothing-more-or-less-than-a-n_741851.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/james-webb-young-35828_idea-new_an-idea-is-nothing-more-or-less-than-a-n_741851.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An idea is nothing more or less than a new combination of old elements (Quoted from Vilfredo Pareto)” — 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 or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/an-idea-is-nothing-more-or-less-than-a-new-combination-of-old/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/an-idea-is-nothing-more-or-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 } } ] } ```