Conceptionfrom

Conceptionfrom is a neologism in cognitive science that describes a process of forming a new concept by deriving it from preexisting concepts, experiences, or external sources. In this view, novelty arises not merely from recombining known ideas but from structured mappings that transfer salient features from a source domain to a target domain, producing a concept with rooted familiarity and new applications.

The term combines conception with from to signal the directional source of the idea. It remains distinct from general concept formation by emphasizing the act of taking inspiration or structure from something outside the immediate target concept.

Mechanistically, conceptionfrom relies on abstraction, analogy, metaphor, and cross-domain mapping. It may involve selecting a prototypical feature set from a source concept, aligning it with relevant dimensions in the target space, and validating the resulting idea against constraints and goals. It sits at the intersection of creativity and cognitive economy.

An example is designing a user interface that is a conceptionfrom the familiar concept of a physical workspace, transferring notions of layout and affordances to a digital environment. In science, researchers might develop a conceptionfrom model by mapping principles from ecology to information networks.

Scholarly treatment of conceptionfrom is mixed. Proponents argue it clarifies how new ideas emerge from existing cognitive structures, while critics caution that the term risks vagueness without precise operational definitions. It is used primarily in theoretical discussions and case studies of analogy and concept formation. See also concept formation, analogy, metaphor, concept combination.