Snoozing and showers - the key to creative insight

[mklotz]

Mankind's greatest unanswered question is, "What do women really want?"

The next most important question, and one where an answer may be forthcoming some day, is, "How does the human mind work?"

I've long been a student of how my own mind works, particularly with respect to problem solving. Turns out that many of my personal "discoveries" are now being corroborated by hard science.

This article is worth a read if you're interested in improving your own ability to have creative insights.

http://web.mit.edu/ekmiller/Public/www/miller/News_Articles/Lehrer_Insight_New_Yorker.pdf

 

[rake60]

A good read Marv!

In responce to the first question in your post I have the answer!

My wife said my mother OUT LOUD with me in the room,
"I only get mad at him when he doesn't do what I tell him to."

Can it be made any clearer than that?

Ok I think I'd like to go to my room now!

Rick

 

[Brian Rupnow]

I was punished one time for a sudden burst of insight!! it happened in grade 5, with my all time favourite teacher, a Mr. Doug Devolin, from Madoc, Ontario. He was one of those truly great teachers, and was loved by all of us kids. Of course, like all classes of students, since cave days, there were about 15 percent of kids who answered all the questions, and 85 percent who sat silently in their chairs, and never said a damn thing. I was one of the lucky 15 percent. Doug had a terrible problem, in that he would ask a question, and before it had time to percolate into the brains of the other 85 percent, one of us 15 percenters would jump up and blurt out the answer. Finally, in a fit of teacherly frustration, the decree was handed down---"When I ask a question, I want a show of hands. I will select the student I want to answer. The next person to jump up and blurt out an answer will get the strap!!!" We were all quite taken aback by this pronouncement, as he was not a strapping kind of teacher). Later that day, we had a class on I think, science. Doug posed the question---'why do all the rivers run from the land into the sea, instead of vice-versa?". Wow!! What a great question. We were all struck totally dumb!!! No one had a clue. AND THEN IT HAPPENED---A BLINDING FLASH OF INSIGHT!!! I leapt from my desk and shouted "I know!! I know!!---Its because the land is higher than the sea!!"----What an amazing revelation. And then I remembered the decree from earlier in the day. I truly can't say who was sorrier--me for getting the strap, or Mr. Devolin who had to give it to one of his star pupils. I have never really trusted bursts of insight ever since.---Brian

 

[mklotz]

One of my earliest model engineering insights was the understanding of how a steam engine D-valve operates. One of the first engines I built was Verburg's mill engine, which incorporates such a valve. I started building the engine without fully understanding how it worked or why it was designed the way it was. I puzzled over the valve diagram in the plans for a long time with no comprehension forthcoming.

Then one morning, in the shower - just as indicated in the article, it hit me. The interior of the steam chest is always pressurized and the valve is always sitting over the exhaust which, since it communicates with the exterior, must be at atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the pressure always acts to clamp/seal the valve to the valve plate. I was overwhelmed by the utter simplicity and the perfect simplicity of it all.

And, just as in the article, the entire solution sprang, fully-formed, into my mind in an instant. It was, at least to me, confirmation that all that puzzling over it had somehow been remembered and some part of my mind, unknown to me, had been dutifully processing and synthesizing that information. As a physicist, I'm used to carefully analyzing a problem and working dutifully and sequentially to build up a solution piece by piece. As a consequence, when the "Aha!" insight strikes, it's even more than usually astounding.

I'm a firm believer in the idea that one must understand and exploit one's personal psychological idiosyncracies in order to work efficiently and safely in the machine shop.
Conversely, working in the shop can, with dutiful reflection, teach us a great deal about how our minds work and what those idiosyncracies are. There's no nobler use for our mind than thinking about our mind.

 

[Cedge]

The article definitely makes my nocturnal design sessions a bit more understandable. Numerous times, my AHA!! moments have awakened me from sound early morning sleep.

Steve

 

[georgeseal]

Steve,
The only bad thing about you getting woke up in the morning is you are already in the shop working :big:

 

[Philjoe5]

Last year at this time I was building a steam engine with an oscillating rotary valve. I had no idea how the thing worked. But before I made each part I tried to understand its function. I was stumped when it came to the numerous steam passage holes in the cylinder block. Then, one day on my daily bike ride, the function of all those holes came to me. For me, in both my career and my hobby riding a bicylce triggers just enough of a boost in comprehension skills to get me through something that's puzzling me.

Cheers,
Phil

 

[mklotz]

For me, in both my career and my hobby riding a bicylce triggers just enough of a boost in comprehension skills to get me through something that's puzzling me.

If the article is correct, it might be more proper to say that bike-riding distracts your conscious mind so the solution brewing in your unconscious can "break through".

 

[baldrocker]

I have AHAs all the time but rarely remember them but the recolection of two of them has stayed
in my mind.
1. In primary school when the mysteries of long division fell into place.
2. In a flash of insight I suddenly realised why country and western singers
in Australia had to sound American, at the time a true puzzle to me. Sadly I
cannot remember why now.
BR

 

[Kludge]

Okay, a bit of background first:

I've mentioned being a 100% disabled vet. The disabilities are: Chronic Depression with suicidal ideation, severe PTSD, Transient Global Amnesia (which can be fun sometimes), Agorahobia and Anxiety. In short, I really am the prototypical "psycho Nam-era vet" portrayed as a Truly Evil Person so much in movies & on TV a lot through the 70s and into the 80s. All of this brings out nightmares, memories of the "You are there" sort, and a bunch of other unpleasantness that's between me and my brain care specialists.

What does this have to do with the topic? A lot. One of the ways I fight off the "demons" is to force my mind to think about various machines - force it into engineer mode, so to speak - and concentrate on ideas for the designs for both bragging engines and Noelle-machines. If necessary, I can refine them a bit later when I have what I laughingly refer to as my "full mental faculties" but the core work is done under duress.

Funny how that works, isn't it.

Best regards,

Kludge, the already certified insane

 

[Cedge]

Kludge
Keep your ears open and you'll find you ain't the only "conditionally" bent cookie in the jar around here. Having gone through the stress of dealing with a double homicide in the family and all the weird things that can do to one's head, I too found refuge from the depression problems through stringent technical mental activity and a total immersion in my work. It ain't truly weird unless you are the only one using it to cope.... eh?

Steve

 

[Kludge]

Keep your ears open and you'll find you ain't the only "conditionally" bent cookie in the jar around here.

Thanks, Steve. That helps a lot. It is a lonely feeling sometimes - often - and I'm glad that I have company.

I too found refuge from the depression problems through stringent technical mental activity and a total immersion in my work. It ain't truly weird unless you are the only one using it to cope.... eh?

I made a promise to my daughter that I would not ever leave her. That promise has been the only thing keeping me alive at times and my doctors know it. They tell me someday it won't be enough but they dont realize the strength of a Noelle-promise nor the level of commitment I have to her.

While I know that I can go to the VA's psych lockdown facility if the situation warrants, I'd rather not (The food's lousy and the room service is terrible. Duncan Heinz would definitely not approve. ) so I use the "engineering exercises" instead. But with everything - the meds and the reasons for them - I also find myself doing the "sit and stare" bit a lot when I'm not fighting the demons which doesn't help at all. This is a good part of why progress is so slow and actually finishing something is a major accomplishment. I do try to keep my sense of humor going (My current psychiatrist calls it an "adult escape mechanism".) which helps as well.

Anyway, trying to wedge this back on topic, some of the more "unusual" designs start as demon-fighters then get refined when I can get the Rube Goldberg meets Monty Python "anything simple can be made highly complex in a great number of ways" approach working again. (This is the same approach that lead to an engine that had a paper party favor umbrella turning on top.) I never took pictures of the early engines or BEAM bots since I don't have anyone to share them with - Noelle got them so didn't need pics - but I do now so due photographic diligence is indicated.

Best regards and, again, thanks for letting me know I'm not alone,

Kludge