Archimedes and his Eureka! moment

Genius may be 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration, but that 1% is pretty critical. Jonah Lehrer examines the science behind inspiration in a recent piece in The New Yorker (pdf here).

For scientists from Archimedes to Newton, moments of sudden insight have led to incredible breakthroughs. Now, neuroscientists at Northwestern and MIT are piecing together how these insights actually occur. Their research suggests that insights originate in the brain’s right hemisphere, the region involved in making broad and novel connections, while the prefrontal cortex, which regulates brain activity, instantly recognizes the insight and makes your conscious mind aware of it.

Understanding how the brain produces insights may someday lead to new ways to foster and support innovation. In the meantime, researchers say, don’t feel guilty about letting your mind wander: “The big ideas seem to always come when people are sidetracked, when they’re doing something that has nothing to do with their research.â€?

Ultimately, even knowing its origins, insight remains a mysterious process. Says Mark Jung-Beeman of Northwestern, “At a certain point, you just have to admit that your brain knows much more than you do.�

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