A wandering mind may be your best friend when it comes solving complex issues or problems, according to a study published in the journal Psychological Science. Before we dig deeper into what the study did and showed, check out some well-known cases in point:
- Isaac Newton came up with his gravity jazz when he saw an apple drop from a tree in a garden.
- Albert Einstein kicked off his theory of relativity while imagining running next to a sunbeam to universe’s edge.
- Greek philosopher Archimedes had his “Eureka” moment as he was getting into a bathtub and saw the water went higher as his body went lower.
UK’s Telegraph noted some of the most ingenious solutions came from folks who let their mind wander aimlessly instead of focusing solely and arduously at a particular task or problem. As The Telegraph noted:
(Researchers said) that the ‘seemingly dysfunctional mental state’ of daydreaming may ‘serve as a foundation for creative inspiration.’
The study had 145 people working on compiling a list of creative uses for ordinary objects. The folks were then split into four groups, three of which were allowed to daydream of 12 minutes as a sort of break, and one group that had to keep working on the list.
They all then returned to the same set of objects to finish off the list, with the groups that daydreamed showing a 40 percent increase in performance for coming up with ideas.
Remember this one for your boss the next time she catches you staring blithely out the window! You can also try daydreaming for stress relief if you’re facing a particularly long bout of driving or an extended trip.
Read the full article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/9695290/Daydreaming-really-is-the-key-to-solving-complex-problems.html
