[gabrielgoh]

Its very tempting to believe that because most of math/science (e.g.) is incremental, that all math is incremental. Once in a long while I stumble onto something really new, a theorem or a proof which simply has no precedent. These things make you go "wow how did someone think of that?" - and it is the ability to do that which distinguishes a genius from a regular and competent mathematician.

It's very easy to dismiss all ideas as being incremental, but I think there exist real, rare sparks of genius which leapfrog the field forward, and these sparks of genius only get deeper and more mysterious the more you think of it. My only reaction to these ideas is a certain sense of awe.