Every offseason in the NFL I read something about “so and so player taking dancing classes”. The idea behind the classes was that these players are working on their footwork. More specifically, they are working on footwork that is unnatural to them. By working on skills that are tangential, but not directly the norm, they are preparing their feet for whatever unique situations they may encounter.
In the world of innovation, this is called “associating”. You learn one topic in from a field, perhaps biology, and apply that to a new field like manufacturing. The discovery of osmosis occurring in nature is one of the reasons we are able to manufacture contacts which can stay moist on the eye.
I often wonder if there is a limit to this innovation puzzle. Or… do we need to find a way to fit the pieces together faster?