– Oh, I like this version of “The Sound Of Music”!

– Version? This is John Coltrane, 1961.

– Yes, well, is the song sang by Julie Andrews in “The Sound Of Music,” the film.

– Is it? Let me do a quick search.

–Oh, you don’t need it. I know it very well.

And she starts to sing it.

If you have never watched “The Sound Of Music,” the film 1965, and you don’t know it’s a film adaptation of a famous musical, this might have happened to you.

On the contrary, knowing that tune from the movie would have generated an instantaneous connection in your mind.

That’s how we put pieces of knowledge together by connecting them. The requirement for the connection is to have the knowledge, not just data, nor information. We need to have a memory of sounds, words, pictures, and data about them. The fascinating power of our brain will do the rest if we pay enough attention. Yes, we should focus on observing relationships or, at the very least, be open to our senses when these opportunities happen by chance.

We can maximize the opportunity for connections by exposing ourselves to the broadest and most diverse knowledge while intentionally observing. Serendipity is an additional factor that gets in the game when we allow our minds to wander through the paths of seemingly unrelated facts.