tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86709779592253099922024-03-14T02:01:10.911-04:00distractivityJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-36660763649818047722023-03-19T10:34:00.005-04:002023-03-19T10:36:24.678-04:00Human NatureFrom <b>Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals</b> by Oliver Burkeman
<blockquote><br />Something in us wants to be distracted, whether by our digital devices or anything else—to <i>not</i> spend our lives on what we thought we cared about the most. </blockquote>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-68897677770672400322022-01-01T20:47:00.006-05:002022-01-01T20:54:12.775-05:00Daydreaming Can Be Good for YouYour high school English teacher might have called you a space cadet, but in reality, even the briefest mental vacations can restore a sense of well-being.
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For decades, psychologists have equated daydreaming with a failure of cognitive control, focusing on how it stunts abilities like task processing, reading comprehension and memory. Yet, Jerome Singer, a former professor at Pennsylvania State University and the father of daydreaming research, hypothesized that daydreaming can have a positive effect. If not, why would our minds be so prone to wander?
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<br />From Rebecca Renner in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/10/at-home/daydreaming.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a>.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-32115988950515199092018-06-05T16:54:00.000-04:002018-06-05T16:54:29.809-04:00Constructive DistractionA concept to live by, from Walter Mischel, the creator of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment#Stanford_experiment" target="_blank">Marshmallow Test</a>:
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His secret seems to come straight from the marshmallow test: distraction. “It’s to keep living in a way one wants to live and work; to distract constructively; to distract in ways that are in themselves satisfying; to do things that are intrinsically gratifying,” he says. “Melancholy is not one of my emotions. Quite seriously, I don’t do melancholy. It’s a miserable way to be.”
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From Pamela Druckerman in the <a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/opinion/sunday/learning-self-control.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a></span>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-59719889573295127242017-10-27T15:04:00.000-04:002017-10-27T15:04:32.456-04:00Daydreaming may, in fact, be a sign of greater intelligenceSoft focus.
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[T]he data suggests a high correlation between those with higher quality and efficiency of thought—and a tendency, or more appropriately an ability, to let one’s mind wander a little more.
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W. Harry Fortuna at <a href="https://qz.com/1111908/daydreaming-may-be-a-sign-of-greater-intelligence/">Quartz</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-87909778993643796312017-07-05T08:56:00.003-04:002017-07-05T08:59:47.669-04:00The scientific link between boredom and creativityIn case you didn’t get <a href="http://distractivity.blogspot.com/2011/11/">the message</a>.
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One of the most common questions that writers receive is: “Where do you get your ideas?” The best answer for me is that I get ideas for stories during periods of associative thinking—that is, letting my mind wander, just musing and reflecting.</br>
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Indeed, research suggests that people who want to come up with creative ideas would do well to let their minds drift. These people are more prone to “divergent thinking styles”—the ability to come up with creative new ideas. “Thus, boredom may encourage people to approach rewards and spark associative thought.”
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Jordan Rosenfeld at <a href="https://qz.com/1020976/the-scientific-link-between-boredom-and-creativity/">Quartz</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-6410655277853055282016-01-17T09:54:00.000-05:002016-01-17T09:54:00.367-05:00Procrastination encourages divergent thinking<blockquote>
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While procrastination is a vice for productivity, I’ve learned that it’s a virtue for creativity.<br />
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Our first ideas are usually our most conventional. When you procrastinate, you’re more likely to let your mind wander. That gives you a better chance of stumbling onto the unusual and spotting unexpected patterns.<br />
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In every creative project, there are moments that require thinking more laterally and more slowly. My natural need to finish early was a way of shutting down complicating thoughts that sent me whirling in new directions. I was avoiding the pain of divergent thinking — but I was also missing out on its rewards.<br />
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Adam Grant in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/17/opinion/sunday/why-i-taught-myself-to-procrastinate.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a>.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-24337739408786394592015-06-17T09:33:00.000-04:002015-06-17T09:33:26.568-04:00A New Theory of Distraction<blockquote>
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The pleasure we get from being distracted is the pleasure of taking action and being free. Distraction is appealing precisely because it’s active and rebellious.<br />
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Why do so many writers find distraction so scary? The obvious answer is that they’re writers. More generally, distraction is scary for another, complementary reason: the tremendous value that we’ve come to place on attending. The modern world valorizes few things more than attention.<br />
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Behind the crisis of distraction, in short, there is what amounts to a crisis of attention: the more valuable and in demand attention becomes, the more problematic even innocuous distractions seem to be.<br />
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Joshua Rothman in <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/a-new-theory-of-distraction">The New Yorker</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-90267482477551783122012-07-01T09:32:00.000-04:002012-09-25T21:50:41.171-04:00Internet distractions make us more efficientWhen you itch, scratch.
<blockquote><br />Stressed out, on a deadline, I was frustrated to the point of uselessness and began to post a handful of items to Twitter and Tumblr. For a while, my mind and fingers wandered aimlessly around the Web. When I grew tired of this, I turned back to my assignment, completed it and turned it in. The entire detour took less than 10 minutes, and it seemed to make me more efficient.<br />…<br />
I’ve found that losing myself in the Web can be invigorating. Instead of needing to turn off the noise of the Web, I often use it to calm my nerves so I can finish my work.<br />…<br />
It seems that instead of fracturing my focus and splintering my attention span, digital distractions have become a part of my work flow, part of the process, along with organizing notes and creating an outline for each article I write.</blockquote>
<br />Jenna Wortham in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/technology/when-internet-distractions-make-us-more-efficient.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a>.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-15179698364793670942012-02-28T11:24:00.003-05:002012-09-25T21:53:11.897-04:00Distraction gives you time to breatheWhen you’re stuck in a hole, the first thing to do is to stop digging.<br /><blockquote><br />Harvard University researcher and psychologist Shelley H. Carson, author of “Your Creative Brain,” says distraction isn’t always a bad thing.<br /><br />If you are stuck on a problem, an interruption can force an “incubation period,” she says. “In other words, a distraction may provide the break you need to disengage from a fixation on the ineffective solution.”<br />…<br />Carson’s studies show that not only are creative people more susceptible to “novelty,” and thus distraction, but that mind wandering itself is associated with highly creative people.<br /></blockquote><br />Jan Brogan in the <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2012/02/27/when-being-distracted-good-thing/1AYWPlDplqluMEPrWHe5sL/story.html" target="_blank">Boston Globe</a>.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-38079686563338999322012-02-19T08:54:00.004-05:002012-02-19T09:05:12.820-05:00The Art of DistractionA flighty mind might be going somewhere.<br /><blockquote><br />It is incontrovertible that sometimes things get done better when you’re doing something else. <br />…<br />Some interruptions are worth having if they create a space for something to work in the fertile unconscious. Indeed, some distractions are more than useful; they might be more like realizations and can be as informative and multilayered as dreams. <br />…<br />There might be more to our distractions than we realized we knew. We might need to be irresponsible. But to follow a distraction requires independence and disobedience; there will be anxiety in not completing something, in looking away, or in not looking where others prefer you to.<br />…<br />In the end, a person requires a method. He must be able to distinguish between creative and destructive distractions by the sort of taste they leave, whether they feel depleting or fulfilling. <br /></blockquote><br />Hanif Kureishi in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/opinion/sunday/the-art-of-distraction.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a>.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-68354820461862923142011-11-12T11:50:00.004-05:002011-11-12T12:23:02.892-05:00The Benefits of BoredomWhen you’re doing nothing, you’re just getting started:<br /><blockquote><br />It’s easy to underestimate boredom.<br /><br />However, boredom and its synonyms can also become a crucial tool of creativity. When people are immersed in monotony, they automatically lapse into a very special form of brain activity: mind-wandering.<br /><br />In recent years neuroscience has dramatically revised our views of mind-wandering. [P]eople who consistently engage in more mind-wandering score significantly higher on various measures of creativity.<br /></blockquote><br />From the ever-fascinating <a href="http://www.jonahlehrer.com/">Jonah Lehrer's</a> essay, <a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/the-importance-of-mind-wandering">The Importance of Mind-Wandering</a> in <a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/frontal-cortex">Wired</a>.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-64022457785614822822011-06-25T18:41:00.003-04:002011-06-25T18:56:44.937-04:00On the Art of PutteringA moment of calm reflection:<br /><blockquote><br />We are a driven people… We keep lists; we crowd our schedules; we look for more efficient ways to organize ourselves.<br /><br />But every now and then there comes a day for puttering. No one intends to putter. You simply discover, in a brief moment of self-awareness, that you have been puttering…<br /><br />Your attention is diverted almost immediately and then diverted again. You move through the morning with a calm, oblivious focus, taking on tasks — incidental ones — in the order they present themselves, which is to say no order at all.<br /><br />Puttering is small-scale, stream-of-consciousness problem-solving.<br /></blockquote><br />Excerpted from a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/25/opinion/25sat4.html" target="_blank">New York Times editorial</a>, June 24, 2011.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-59784919162035477492011-04-09T08:16:00.006-04:002011-04-09T08:26:56.934-04:00In Praise of DistractionTrust your inclination:<br /><blockquote><br />[T]here’s no doubt that the Internet has made it much easier—and more entertaining—to slack off at the office. … [P]lenty of new research suggests that forcing Internet-addicted employees to go cold turkey may make them less productive, not more. … [G]iving people some respite from difficult tasks, along with the chance to let their minds wander, will make them more productive.<br /></blockquote><br />James Surowiecki in the <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2011/04/11/110411ta_talk_surowiecki" target="_blank">New Yorker</a>.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-58785393451804494842011-02-04T19:01:00.000-05:002011-02-04T19:39:52.817-05:00The Art of Productive ProcrastinationDon’t let what you should be doing keep you from what you <i>really</i> should be doing:<br /><blockquote><br />I am rarely, if ever, doing what I should be doing. … I gave up on trying to do exactly what I was meant to be doing in favor of always doing something. … I’ve always found that it’s useful to have something else to be doing when you’re too burnt out to face the next thing on your list.<br /></blockquote><br />From <a href="http://www.saulgriffith.com/Make/index.html" target="_blank">Saul Griffith</a> in <a href="http://www.make-digital.com/make/vol25/?pg=15&pm=1&u1=friend" target="_blank">MAKE Magazine</a>.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-42374316757468960672011-01-31T18:08:00.000-05:002011-02-04T19:40:21.316-05:00Making a place for serendipityPlanning can be an obstacle to opportunity:<br /><blockquote><br />Serendipity and luck are by their very nature unpredictable, and therefore not part of any good plan. When something unexpected happens, things are no longer “going according to plan”, and there is a tendency to view the unexpected event either as a distraction, or as a frustrating obstacle to success.<br /><br />The difference between a life full of frustrating obstacles, and a life full of serendipity, is largely a matter of interpretation.<br /></blockquote><br />From <a href="http://paulbuchheit.blogspot.com/2010/10/serendipity-finds-you.html" target="_blank">Serendipity finds you</a> by <a href="http://paulbuchheit.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Paul Buchheit</a>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-11713438291514456062010-10-27T09:20:00.004-04:002010-10-27T09:33:01.764-04:00Daydreaming’s Time FrameYour brain is working even when it’s not.<br /><blockquote><br />If creative insights are the products of daydreaming, could it be that they are the <i>purpose</i> of daydreaming? In that case, the seemingly aimless meanderings of our minds would, in fact, be goal-directed. Schooler agrees, but with a caveat: “It’s important to distinguish between the goals of the moment and more long-term goals,” he explains. “Daydreaming is typically not in the service of the goals of the moment; in fact it works against the goals of the moment. But at the same time, it likely <i>is</i> driven by more distant goals.”<br /></blockquote><br />From: <a href="http://findlab.stanford.edu/Daydreaming.pdf" target="_blank">Distraction</a> – Psychology Today, March/April 2009Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-86229435469651587752010-07-21T20:44:00.003-04:002010-07-21T20:56:23.021-04:00Ambient Thought<a href="http://www.paulgraham.com" target="_blank">Paul Graham</a> describes the importance of what he calls your “top idea.”<br /><blockquote><br />I think most people have one top idea in their mind at any given time. That’s the idea their thoughts will drift toward when they’re allowed to drift freely. And this idea will thus tend to get all the benefit of that type of thinking, while others are starved of it. <br /><br />You can’t directly control where your thoughts drift. If you’re controlling them, they’re not drifting. But you can control them indirectly, by controlling what situations you let yourself get into. That has been the lesson for me: be careful what you let become critical to you.<br /></blockquote><br />As a friend of mine once advised me, don’t get good at something you don’t want to do.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.paulgraham.com/top.html" target="_blank">The Top Idea in Your Mind</a> [<a href="http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/07/21/top-udea" target="_blank">via</a>]Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-31035059915367602992010-07-09T18:32:00.004-04:002010-07-09T18:37:35.131-04:00The benefits of being without goalsIn a test of creativity, a researcher discovered an unexpected advantage in subjects with willingness rather than willfulness:<br /><blockquote><br />Psychologist Ibrahim Senay of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign figured out an intriguing way to explore intention, motivation and goal–directed actions. Senay did this by exploring self–talk — that voice in your head that articulates what you are thinking, spelling out your options and intentions. Senay thought that self–talk might be a tool for exerting the will — or being willing.<br /><br />It is the difference between “Will I do this?” and “I will do this.” [Q]uestions by their nature speak to possibility and freedom of choice. Meditating on them might enhance feelings of autonomy and intrinsic motivation, creating a mind–set that promotes success.<br /><br />People with wondering minds completed significantly more anagrams than did those with willful minds. In other words, the people who kept their minds open were more goal–directed and more motivated than those who declared their objective to themselves.<br /><br />Setting your mind on a goal may be counterproductive.<br /></blockquote><br />From <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-willpower-paradox" target="_blank">Scientific American</a> [<a href="http://bobulate.com/post/790158260/the-willpower-paradox" target="_blank">via</a>]Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-29929825364119714582010-07-04T14:31:00.004-04:002010-07-04T14:39:38.699-04:00Productivity vs. CreativityKeeping busy is not your most important activity:<blockquote><br />My best ideas come to me when I am unproductive. When I am running but not listening to my iPod. When I am sitting, doing nothing, waiting for someone. When I am lying in bed as my mind wanders before falling to sleep. These “wasted” moments, moments not filled with anything in particular, are vital.<br /><br />They are the moments in which we, often unconsciously, organize our minds, make sense of our lives, and connect the dots. They're the moments in which we talk to ourselves. And listen.<br /></blockquote><br />Getting things done and knowing what to do are different problems.<br /><br /><br />From the <a href="http://blogs.hbr.org/bregman/2010/06/why-i-returned-my-ipad.html">Harvard Business Review</a>.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-20066377533341028532010-05-18T20:27:00.003-04:002010-05-18T20:40:42.805-04:00Wandering out of a bindA wandering mind can do important work, scientists are learning - and may even be essential:<br /><blockquote><br />Many scientists argue that daydreaming is a crucial tool for creativity, a thought process that allows the brain to make new associations and connections.<br /><br />“If your mind didn’t wander, then you’d be largely shackled to whatever you are doing right now,” says Jonathan Schooler, a psychologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “But instead you can engage in mental time travel and other kinds of simulation. During a daydream, your thoughts are really unbounded.”<br /><br />In a forthcoming paper, Schooler's lab has shown that people who engage in more daydreaming score higher on experimental measures of creativity, which require people to make a set of unusual connections.<br /><br />[W]hen we are stuck on a particularly difficult problem, a good daydream isn’t just an escape - it may be the most productive thing we can do.<br /></blockquote><br />From <a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/08/31/daydream_achiever/">The Boston Globe</a>.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-20204710089845165792010-01-28T14:05:00.009-05:002010-01-28T14:31:19.569-05:00Career advice“The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.”<br /><br />The words of <a href="http://www.humblepied.com/jessica-hische/">Jessica Hische</a> [<a href="http://bobulate.com/post/356088712/try-to-be-anything-else">via</a>]Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-28719127833349152172009-07-01T17:34:00.006-04:002009-07-01T18:11:43.347-04:00The benefits of daydreamingUniversity of British Columbia research, published in the <i>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</i>:<br /><blockquote><br />“Mind wandering is typically associated with negative things like laziness or inattentiveness,” says lead author, Prof. Kalina Christoff, UBC Dept. of Psychology. “But this study shows our brains are very active when we daydream – much more active than when we focus on routine tasks.”<br /><br />The findings suggest that daydreaming – which can occupy as much as one third of our waking lives – is an important cognitive state where we may unconsciously turn our attention from immediate tasks to sort through important problems in our lives.<br /></blockquote><br />As reported by <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511180702.htm">Science<i>Daily</i></a>.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-8119730896741359492009-05-14T10:29:00.005-04:002009-05-14T10:37:29.667-04:00Thinking like a baby<a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/04/26/inside_the_baby_mindl">The Boston Globe</a> reports on the advantages of a baby's mind:<br /><blockquote><br />"Adults can follow directions and focus, and that's great," says John Colombo, a psychologist at the University of Kansas. "But children, it turns out, are much better at picking up on all the extraneous stuff that's going on. . . . And this makes sense: If you don't know how the world works, then how do you know what to focus on? You should try to take everything in."<br /><br />While thinking like an adult is necessary when we need to focus, or when we already know which information is relevant, many situations aren't so clear-cut. In these instances, paying strict attention is actually a liability, since it leads us to neglect potentially important pieces of the puzzle. That's when it helps to think like a baby.<br /></blockquote><br />As the Globe says: "<a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/04/26/inside_the_baby_mindl">It's unfocused, random, and extremely good at what it does.</a>"Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-8833711886702677022009-02-25T13:26:00.000-05:002009-07-01T17:50:23.102-04:00Involuntary AttentionNew research reported in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/health/24well.html">New York Times</a> points to the value of not paying attention:<br /><blockquote><br />Andrea Faber Taylor, a child environment and behavior researcher at the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory at the University of Illinois, says other research suggests that all children, not just those with attention problems, can benefit from spending time in nature during the school day. ...<br /><br />The reason may be that the brain uses two forms of attention. “Directed” attention allows us to concentrate on work, reading and tests, while “involuntary” attention takes over when we’re distracted by things like running water, crying babies, a beautiful view or a pet that crawls onto our lap.<br /><br />Directed attention is a limited resource. Long hours in front of a computer or studying for a test can leave us feeling fatigued. But spending time in natural settings appears to activate involuntary attention, giving the brain’s directed attention time to rest.<br /></blockquote>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8670977959225309992.post-69471560496259242192008-07-31T09:53:00.000-04:002009-07-01T17:50:01.892-04:00Distractivity vindicatedQuotes from “The Eureka Hunt” – published in The New Yorker – July 28, 2008<br /><blockquote><br />Scooler's research has also lead him to reconsider the bad reputation of letting one's mind wander. Although we often complain that the brain is too easily distracted, Schooler believes that letting the mind wander is essential. … We must concentrate, but we must concentrate on letting the mind wander. … “The relaxation phase is crucial,” Jung-Beeman said. “That's why so many insights happen during warm showers.” Another ideal moment for insights, according to the scientists, is the early morning, right after we wake up. The drowsy brain is unwound and disorganized, open to all sorts of unconventional ideas. … We do some of our best thinking when we're still half asleep.<br /></blockquote>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14860557194574922644noreply@blogger.com0