Indeterminacy 99

Dad is an inventor.
In 1912 his submarine
had the world’s record for staying
under water.
Running as it did
by means of a gasoline engine,
it left bubbles
on the surface,
so it was not employed during
World War I.
Dad says he does his best
work when he is sound
asleep. I was
explaining at the New School
that the way to get ideas
is to do something boring.
For instance,
composing in such a way that
the process of composing is
boring induces ideas.
They fly into
one’s head like birds.

Is that what Dad meant?

- John Cage