This quotation is taken from T.S. Elliot’s Introduction to Dante’s Inferno. The line tells about most unbearable disadvantage of Hell. And it is disconnection. Isolation often turns into the most intolerable torture. However, the line is interesting because it tells about most valuable human truth, it talks about connection, collaboration, exchange.
Recently, Jonah Lehrer claimed in his book “Imagine: How Creativity works” that human connection is the ultimate source of creativity and jaw dropping ideas. We find most valuable ideas when we exchange, talk, go out and meet with people, as many as possible. Despite our utter reluctance to meet with new people, sometimes, and our often increasing demand for serenity to work in peace, that we think is ideal situation for work, we are wrong. We don’t produce more ideas, don’t solve more crisis, don’t accomplish more complex problems when we live in tranquility rather the scenario is quite opposite. We become more productive when we stay in crowd, we listen people to talk, even irrelevant, we exchange ideas, take suggestions and more. Connections lead us to the epiphany of creativity, to the ladder of productivity, and we become what we want to be.