Why great ideas come when you aren't trying : Nature News & Comment - 3 views
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A study now suggests that simply taking a break does not bring on inspiration — rather, creativity is fostered by tasks that allow the mind to wander.
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From an evolutionary perspective, mind-wandering seems totally counterproductive and has been viewed as dysfunctional because it compromises people’s performance in physical activities. However, Baird’s work shows that allowing the brain to enter this state when it is considering complex problems can have real benefits. Zoning out may have aided humans when survival depended on creative solutions.
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Some evidence that 100% "time on task" might actually be counterproductive if you want to develop creativity. -
Thanks Chris. I'm currently reading Jonah Lehrer's "Imagine: How Creativity Works." lots of tie-ins with this research (Kounios is one of his main sources). I wonder if we can build such mind- wandering into our classes...do physics labs allow for "deliberate zoning out time"? Probably not.