ach time you catch a cold, it's a new kind of cold. The symptoms and the suffering may seem to be the same, but it's a totally new cold. You see, there are more than 20,000 virus strains that are known to cause the common cold. And each time you catch a cold, your body learns to defend itself, to immunise itself against that particular cold-causing virus. So only a new one can infect you.

The Creativity Virus is very similar. Here you are, going about life in a simple, sober and mechanical fashion, being absolutely normal, when suddenly you feel a strange tickle in your chest. Your heart pumps a little faster, your mouth goes dry and your mind goes into overdrive. You feel an idea coming on. ... more