Crystallisation
ideas, new ideas
building on current knowledge instead of only seeking the new or novel
working on the same corpus of ideas and thought over a long time might generate new structures of thought. They will be novel in form an composition but the components might be largely the same.
Think about different form of ice (see also metallurgy). Ice nine. Still just H20, but being cooled quickly to an extreme temperature, forms a completely new crystal lattice, unlike anything we’re currently able to produce readily here on earth.[1]
Also, how two soft and relatively common metals like copper and tin, can become the much harder brass when meltet together in the right temperatures.
Same goes with iron and carbon (coal). It becomes steel, one of the most durable building materials around.
These all come from looking at the same materials over and over, and trying new configurations of them.
Not solely seeking the newest, most novel component, but instead looking for new combinations of what’s already known.