The Science of Creativity

Leo Widrich shares many strategies to increasing our creativity in his article,  Why we have our best ideas in the shower: The science of creativity (thanks, Titania Richard).

While there is lots to like about that article, Harvard researcher Shelly Carson mentioned one thing that I have said repeatedly here (1234):

“a distraction may provide the break you need to disengage from a fixation on the ineffective solution.”

Fixating on problems leaves no mental cycles left for solutions. Learn to recognize when your focus on a problem is becoming a hindrance to getting a solution. Find a way to take your mind off of the problem. Releasing this mental pressure creates the vacuum necessary for a solution to enter.

3 comments

  1. This clip is too short, but:

    K gets pie as a mental distraction. Ostensibly foolish and irresponsible, but actually wise. After eating pie, the solution comes to them.

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