One of the things you should really take into account the next time you’re having issues with a project or paper you’re working on is how directly related the information you’re seeking is to the topic at hand. Oftentimes we, as students, try to very clearly focus on the topic at hand. Sometimes we go too far in our one-minded, single-focus attempt to “write” a paper. There is a useful analogy (and, for another “A” word, it’s analogue): the library. I’m fairly young, but one of the complaints I hear from many people much older than I about student writing these days is that the digital has made papers less interesting. “Why?” you rightfully ask. When you use a search engine (and really use it well) your goal is to eliminate any results that aren’t exactly what you want. There are many strategies doing this while you search, and the benefits can be great: you find what you’re looking for. But something is lost in this process.
The thing that gets lost is the experience of being in library of physical books. Having to stand in a section organized far more generally than any reasonable search term would allow for, and having to seek for the single book you were looking for among the many on the shelf. What happens? Your eyes get caught by other titles, other authors, and other ideas. Often the book right next to yours (even if it’s in the right place) will be something markedly different than the exact topic at hand. Sometimes you’ll go down the wrong aisle and find an entire section you sort of “get lost” in while on your quest for a specific book. The point here is this: outside ideas give perspective to the topic you’re actually writing about. It’s why sermons start with a story and why the coolest ideas are often just a combination of previous ideas.