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What mosquitoes can teach us about creative thinking:

A new kind of SWAT Analysis?

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers [ed. note: and problem solvers].”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self–Reliance

How many times have you found yourself digging deeper and deeper into building a solution only to have someone point out to you that you’re solving the wrong problem? Trying to reduce costs rather than grow the business. Redesigning brochures when a new search engine optimization strategy is needed. Creating flavor extensions rather than re–thinking the business strategy. Perfecting your Twitter status when you should be doing work. Yes, we do it too.

But before you dig in too deeply to idea generation or development, it’s helpful to learn a few things from some mosquitoes...or at least from the people who research the tenacious little buzzers. While pretending to run important business errands in the car a few weeks ago, one of our innovative brains was stimulated by an interesting discussion on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation: Science Friday” that was also reported by the Associated Press.

For a long time now, the best solution to combating malaria and dengue fever has been to engage in mass spraying of pesticides, since mosquitoes infect humans. In fact, one of the debates about preventing malaria in Africa (by killing mosquitoes), is whether the risks of spraying DDT (a substance banned years ago for agricultural use by the Stockholm Convention because of its damage to the food chain) is outweighed by the tremendous benefits of preventing a horrible disease like Malaria (just ask N&I partner Russ Schoen, who spent some time volunteering in Tanzania and witnessed this terrible disease first–hand. Fortunately, he avoided it, in spite of discovering – only after he landed in Africa – that he was highly allergic to his very expensive malaria prevention medication).

Even while the debate rages about this time–tested pesticide solution, some Australian scientists noticed a key piece of information: it’s the older mosquitoes that usually spread disease. It takes the short–lived mosquito about two weeks to incubate the pathogen that it spreads by biting someone. So watch out for those gray–haired mosquitoes, because they’re more likely carrying malaria and dengue.

These scientists also linked this insight to the fact that there is a type of fruit fly that is often naturally infected with a strain of bacterial parasite that cuts its lifespan in half.

Hmm... Do you see what’s coming?

In controlled lab tests, the scientists worked out a way to naturally infect mosquitoes with a parasite that cuts their lifespan in half, and which also naturally spreads from an infected mother to her offspring, without spreading to other creatures in the food chain. This approach is intended to provide an inexpensive alternative to high–cost repeated mass sprayings.

For the record, as non–entomologists, we don’t know enough to advocate for or against this solution (see also: “law of unintended consequences,” which certainly arrested DDT). Yet here are some key learnings from this story:

  1. If you have what appears to be a sub–optimal solution (like repeated mass–spraying of DDT to prevent malaria), rather than positionally arguing about the pros and cons of the implementation, review the data, even the seemingly inconsequential stuff (like that old mosquitoes are the dangerous ones) to see what shows up as strange, interesting, or unusual.
  2. Rather than looking at the data in isolation, see if there are interesting linkages that build on each other, such as older mosquitoes being dangerous and the ability to shorten the life–span of a similar insect. This is why we so passionately recommend that you read widely, not just within your field.
  3. Look to other areas of expertise. If you’re working on electrical components, what can you learn from food producers? If you work on medical devices, what can you discover by talking to a teacher? Farmer? Insulation Contractor? Fruit fly expert? Never assume that just because the other person doesn’t work in your field that they can’t provide huge insights. Aviation expert, Charles Lindbergh, helped noted French surgeon Dr. Alexis Carrel develop a heart perfusion pump after Carrel ran into a dead end. Similarly, the external heartbeat–regulating pacemaker was primarily developed by a Canadian electrical engineer — John Hopps — based on the observations of a cardio–thoracic surgeon. The current standard for external pacemakers was developed by another engineer, Wilson Greatbatch, who found a power source that worked better than Hopps’ electrical cord into the wall.
  4. Once you’ve reviewed the data, consider whether you’re solving the correct problem. Is the challenge, “how might we kill mosquitoes,” or “how might we shorten the lifespan of mosquitoes?” The solutions will take you in different directions.

Okay, is too much talk of mosquitoes making you itchy? Well, while we like ITCCH, we don’t like to itch or mosquitoes either. But every now and then they provide some good lessons for helping to lift us out of a problem solving hole, and into taking flight that might even create some — sorry — buzz.

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