Don...at a party after a Getaway few years ago, various bantering was going on, fueled by various beverages. Some of the Brits were impossible for me to follow as they darted from one thought to another with no (to me) discernible transition.
When I made some comment, Snuffy said to me, "I don't LIKE to think in a straight line!"
Well, neither do I at odd times, but I'm always drawn back to connections
   I guess most poetry is done by those who make strange jumps, while most science & philosophy is by us linear folks...(even when the straight line has a few kinks in it.)