This clip with Steven Wright from Conan O’Brien’s podcast is a wonderful moment of two comedians talking about creativity.
It’s more than about writing jokes. It covers a core point about the creative process.
Finding a connection between two ideas that seem unrelated pulls both of them into a new place. A gap opens and, in this case, that’s where the joke lives.
That contrast is where the story happens.
Like Dalí looking at a melting camembert and checking a pocket watch.
Like Einstein looking at a flashing light on a train and considering relativity.
Like Allen Ginsberg’s Hydrogen Jukebox.
A new way of looking at the world is created. It’s a hard step to take and, as Conan O’Brien says in the podcast, maybe something many would think should be treated.