The greatest fault of a penetrating wit is to go beyond the mark.

A sharp mind has a characteristic failure, which is not stopping. It sees the point, then goes on to the point beyond it, and finds the elegant extension that is a step too far to be true. The same force that got there quickly carries it past. This is why clever people are often wrong in more interesting ways than slow ones.

When an idea of yours arrives feeling unusually elegant, hold it and ask what would have to be true for it to work. Then say the duller version out loud to someone and see which of the two they can actually use.