""23 things I didn't learn in college / grad school":

#22:
Get perspectives.
Know your biases.
Break Axioms

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If you try to solve a problem using the same tools and perspectives that didn't work the first time or the second time, you're unlikely to make any progress.

Often creativity lies in being able to change perspective.

Aristarchus / Copernicus changed the point of view from the earth to the sun and untangled planetary orbits.

The Wright brothers succeeded where others failed because they didn't believe they needed to solve the problem of balance -- as bicycle mechanics, they could see that the human operator could solve the balance problem.

They broke an implicit "axiom" that had blocked others.

The biggest breakthrough in theoretical CS since NP-completeness was interactive proofs.

Instead of a proof that is published, what if you're given access to the prover whom you can probe interactively?

This rule-breaking has revolutionized complexity theory and cryptography.

I've found that changing the perspective or bringing new perspectives is often the most powerful way to solve the thorniest of problems.

I've seen it in all three flavors of work I've done -- science, engineering, and management.

To do that, it is helpful to know and acknowledge your biases.

It begins with self-awareness.