The process of obtaining new knowledge through the creation of ideas is analyzed. Examples of ideas from different fields of knowledge are analyzed. The idea of society as the speciation of Nature itself is considered. An algorithm for the process of the emergence of novelty in society is proposed. The idea of speech and the role it played in the development of the ability to think productively and in the socialization of human communities are analyzed in more detail. The question of Heidegger's existential-historical thinking is presented. A comparison is given of the nature of Heidegger's thinking with the methodology of the emergence of novelty through the generation of ideas. The question of the emergence of consciousness and the role played by memory, language and the ability to concentrate is considered. An understanding of consciousness is proposed, firstly, as focusing on cultural signs that can express the mental activity of the material structures of our brain, and secondly, as monitoring our own actions in the process of communication in the world around us.