What is an idea?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Steven Bornholtz

Photo license: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is an idea? Here is my definition:

An idea is an original thought

The most common metaphor for an idea is a light bulb. When you turn on a light bulb, there is a sudden burst of energy illuminating a previously dark area. Ideas are similar in this regard. Ideas are a sudden realization of something previously unknown. In this way ideas are original.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0