“In the book Connections, based on memorable PBS series, James Burke describes several cases in which inventors were led to a discovery by first observing the similarities that existed between a previous invention (source) and that which the inventor wished to build (target). The automobile is a prime example. The carburetor is linked to a perfume sprayer, which in turn is linked to an eighteenth-century Italian who was trying to understand how to harness the hydraulic power of water. Alessandro Volta’s electric pistol, initially created to test the purity of air, eventually sparked the fuel sprayed by the carburetor 125 years later. An automobile’s gears are the direct descendant of the waterwheel, and the engine’s pistons and cylinders can be traced to Thomas Newcomen’s pumping engine, originally designed to drain coal mines. Each major discovery is connected to an earlier idea, a model that stimulated original thinking.”詹姆斯·伯克描述了几个案例，发明家们通过不雅观察先前发明（源）与他们希望构建的发明（目标）之间存在的相似性，从而找到了新的创造。汽车便是一个很好的例子。化油器与喷鼻香水喷雾器有联系，而这又与一个18世纪的意大利人有关，他试图理解如何利用水力发电。亚历山德罗·伏特的电击枪最初是为了测试空气的纯度而发明的，但终极却引发了125年后化油器喷射的燃料。汽车的齿轮是水轮机的直接后代，而发动机的活塞和汽缸可以追溯到托马斯·纽科门最初设计的抽水机。每个重大创造都与一个较早的想法有关，这个模型引发了原始思维。
