Here are some articles I’ve come across this month that I particularly enjoyed and wanted to share:

1. The idle mind may be the devil’s workshop, but it is also the mother of invention, according to journalist and blogger Clive Thompson. New brain research shows that our minds wonder off task about one-third of the time. Thompson posits the theory that such daydreaming must serve a useful purpose, such as producing that “aha” moment in which new ideas are born. In this Wired article, he suggests we redesign work to encourage what might be called organized daydreaming. Interesting thought.

2. I have to admit that when I first heard the term “sandwich in a can” on Stephen Colbert’s show, I thought he was making it up. But he wasn’t and the story behind this unlikely product is an example of perseverance that should inspire any entrepreneur who has an idea that others scoff at. “Sandwiches in a can: Can do or can’t do?” tells the story of how Salt Lake City entrepreneur Mark Kirkland spent more than a decade developing a product called Candwich. Heck, by the time I got to the end of this piece, I was actually thinking I might tray a P&J Candwich!

3. Who doesn’t love serendipity? And serendipity can be a great source of creativity and innovation. Two ideas bump into each other that have never met before and, bam, a new idea is formed. Here’s an article with advice on how to increase your odds of serendipity when using Twitter.