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Those Eureka Moments

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the lookit-all-them-perty-equations-in-there dept.

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."

10 of 209 comments (clear)

  1. Eureka is overrated by Plutor · · Score: 5, Informative

    "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...'"
    -Isaac Asimov.

    1. Re:Eureka is overrated by arvindn · · Score: 5, Interesting
      I think you're confusing science and problem solving. I experienced this confusion first hand. In high school, I was really good at problem solving, particlarly math. I was addicted to the "Aha!" feeling. I even went to the IMO, and thought I had it made for a career in math.

      In college, I discovered that math was in reality very different from what I'd expected. The Aha! was simply not there. It was a different beast altogether. Everything went in several incremental steps rather than one flash of insight. It required vertical rather than lateral thinking. Fortunately math wasn't my major, and I eventually dropped out.

      Back to what you said, its perfectly true of science, but this article is about problem solving. Eureka doesn't herald new discoveries, but it sure makes the world go round, helping people find non-obvious solutions to tricky little everyday problems.

    2. Re:Eureka is overrated by indigeek · · Score: 5, Funny

      But would you run naked around the town shouting "Thats funny" ?

  2. Taking a break by justinmc · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I find the best thing to do is walk away from the problem for a while - could be for a cup of coffee or you could sleep on it etc. Either you look at the problem again and you just see the answer, or you are brushing your teeth and you suddenly have the answer in your head! Don't ask me why.. IANABS (I Am Not A Brain Scientist!!)

    1. Re:Taking a break by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      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.

    2. Re:Taking a break by Tooky · · Score: 5, Insightful

      With code I always find that if I try to show a colleague a problem, I almost always solve it, often while I'm showing them and before they've even had chance to think about it. I guess this works in the same way as taking a break, because it allows you to think about it in a different way. When you demonstrate the bug to someone else, your concious mind isn't focusing on the problem and that moment of insight seems to happen.

  3. For nerds, this is not news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    When coding and gaming frenzy kicks in, we all know that personal hygeine suffers. The "You Reek!" moments happen at times like these.

  4. Excellent book with examples by Don'tTreadOnMe · · Score: 5, Informative
    "Aha! Insight"

    Sorry for the Amazon link, but it was easy to find there. Strangely, going through this book, especially if you don't resort to the hintws and answers in the back, helps develop just the sort of insight mentioned.

    As always, your mileage may vary.

  5. Re:Superior attitude by FlippyBoy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Actually, thought processes are quite different among people. Growing up in different cultures, and speaking different languages can bring about very distinct ways of thinking about things. Even among similar people, family environments shape the way we process information. Even within one family, if one child is raised on puzzles and interactive games with strategies, s/he will most likely grow up with a vastly different thought proces than one brought up on television. There's still so much about the brain we don't understand, it's impossible to say we all think alike.

  6. apple, the answer is apple. by mattyp · · Score: 5, Insightful

    pineapple, crabapple applesauce