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Those Eureka Moments
Phoe6 writes "If you're one of those insufferable people who can finish the Saturday New York Times crossword puzzle, you probably have a gift for insight. The puzzles always have an underlying hint to solving them, but on Saturdays that clue is insanely obtuse. If you had all day, you could try a zillion different combinations and eventually figure it out. But with insight, you'd experience the usual clueless confusion, until--voilà--the fog clears and you get the clue, which suddenly seems obvious. The sudden flash of insight that precedes such "Aha!" moments is characteristic of many types of cognitive processes besides problem-solving, including memory retrieval, language comprehension, and various forms of creativity. Although different problem-solving strategies share many common attributes, insight-derived solutions appear to be unique in several ways. PLoS Biology explains the Neural Basis of Solving Problems with Insight.
The Complete Research Article is here."
I used to have trouble with the JUMBLE puzzles, but then I went to jumble.org and I got major EUREKA moments...
aren't there lots of clues in solving a crossword puzzle? :)
When coding and gaming frenzy kicks in, we all know that personal hygeine suffers. The "You Reek!" moments happen at times like these.
Illustrating the strong emotional response elicited by such a sudden insight, Archimedes is said to have run home from the baths in euphoric glee--without his clothes.
But really, haven't we all done this at one time or another?
I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
I find the best thing to do is spend a few minutes on Slashdot whenever I'm stuck with something. It reminds me that there are people out there even stupider than myself, and that gives me hope to press on.
And all our brains are wired in exactly the same pattern of neurons so we all experience thinking in exactly the same way. We are Borg, you will be assimilated.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
This also known as the "shitter theorem" and occasionally "quiznos toasted does taste better theorem". ;-)
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
So 'saterdays' are tough? I can't imagine why you'd have a problem with crossword puzzles. :-D
Why stick up for big business?
Damn...even if I had mod points I can't decide....funny or insightful...
I believe I get "No Shit" moments instead of that's funny.
Evolution or ID?
But would you run naked around the town shouting "Thats funny" ?
Have you ever tried to do this step without the help of another person? I often wonder if the walking through the explaination is what helps, and if just pretending someone is there would work just as well.
:)
If it doesn't work, then the people who come over to see why you are talking to yourself may be able to help.
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I've found it!), but 'That's funny...'
True story:
A professor narrates the Archimedes-bathtub incident to a class of freshman engineers. Concludes with "Eureka! Eureka!" and after a pause, asks his class if anyone knows what it means.
Guy in the back row yells out "I'm naked! I'm naked!".
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Well saterdays was the only way he could get a 9 letter word to interect with "JELLOES", a 7 letter dessert advertised by Bill Cosby in the 1980's.
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
I often have Akerue! moments.
Those are when you knew something, but suddenly, it's gone, and you can't for the life of you remember. I hate those.
Accountability on the heads of the powerful.
Power in the hands of the accountable.
Funny, I always associated an epiphany with suddenly realizing something "important", not like word puzzles. Epiphanies are reserved for moments like the time you realized your parents must have had sex at least once. And let me tell you, I did not shout "eurika!" then. ;) I guess because I always use this example I feel like epiphanies are bad things.
That is where I do my crosswords.
In fact, I am thinking of moving my office.
cragen