Ideas in the ether

Remember the other day I was saying it seems like ideas float around in the air and people just seem to pull down the ones they like the look of?

Well, the other day I was learning how to design a sweater pattern and the math portion of the day came just about exactly when any caffeine consumption had fizzled out and the rainy view outside the window sank in. Ugh, I said to my neighbour. I know, she said, and proposed an unconventional, math-free technique for making a sweater pattern I won't share in case she's going to do anything professional with it. Unconventional and also familiar. H'mmm, I said. I myself was thinking of a more hybrid approach. And I described an Evil Idea I'd had to get around fitting problems fast.

No way! she said. I was thinking of that exact thing the other day!

So there you go. Ether. We might both end up being too lazy to take it any further, but it's sort of validating to know I'm not the only person who liked the idea enough to pull it out of the air and take a closer look.