Naked Science Forum
On the Lighter Side => New Theories => Topic started by: Alan McDougall on 25/07/2008 10:20:21
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Hi, maybe this will be of some interest!
http://www.braingle.com/mind/index.php?cat=3
When you let your conscious mind take a break from a task, your subconscious mind
continues to process the information in the background. Sometimes, insightful ideas will flash into your mind. To encourage this, you can try this exercise.
Sit down and write a letter to yourself about the problem you are working on. Pretend that you are writing the letter to someone who knows nothing about the project; give a good description, including everything that you have done to date. Be as detailed as possible.
Don't forget to mention any constraints that are imposed on the problem and what types of solutions are preferred. Then, give your subconscious a deadline. For example, you could write, "I expect a full report by the end of the week!" It may seem silly to write to yourself in this way, but give it a try. Now close up the letter and put it away.
Unbeknownst to you, your subconscious will continue to think about the problem. When the deadline approaches, open up the letter and read it. Chances are that by that point (or possibly earlier) you will have experienced a flash of insight that illuminates a potential solution.
Many famous thinkers got their bright ideas while they were relaxing and not thinking about the problem. Archimedes got his sudden flash of genius while taking a bath and Darwin figured out evolution while driving down the road. These flashes of insight happen because the unconscious mind continues to process information in the background while you are doing other things. If your subconscious figures something out, it will seem like the idea came out of nowhere.
One way to encourage this is to periodically review your notebook to remind your subconscious mind about some of your recorded ideas. Then give your conscious mind a break from concentrating on the topic and do some novel and interesting activities. When you do this, it gives your subconsciousness a chance to freely explore the idea without the constraints that you impose upon your conscious thinking.
Get a good notebook and start writing down all of your ideas. A written record serves two purposes. It guarantees that the idea cannot be lost, and it gives you a way to come up with new ideas via the technique of elaborating on old ideas.
Any interesting idea that you have or you hear about should be recorded in your notebook. If you can, try to organize your notes by topic. You could use notecards and file them in appropriate categories. You could use your PDA or computer to keep notes, or you could designate different notebooks or different sections for different topics. If the idea comes from a source, indicate the source in your notes so you can go back and get more information if necessary.
Don't worry about wasting paper or writing too much down. Your notebooks will be a great resource to go back to when you need some interesting ideas for a current project. Thomas Edison had over 3,000 notebooks documenting his career, so you better get started!
One way to come up with new ideas or improve upon existing ideas is to elaborate on them. In fact, some people believe that all new ideas are elaborations of existing ideas. You should always be striving to improve your ideas and solutions by adding depth or detail.
You can use the following nine different principles to help in your elaborations.
Substitution
Can I put something in place of something else?
Combination
Can I combine two ideas into one?
Adapt
How could I make something similar work?
Modify or Magnify
How can I alter or expand the use of this idea?
Put to other use
What other applications is this idea useful for?
Eliminate
What parts of the idea can I get rid of?
Rearrange or Reverse
How can I rearrange the components? What are some opposite ideas?
You use different parts of your brain for normal tasks and for new, interesting tasks. Even after a few minutes of performing certain tasks, your brain becomes accustomed to it. For example, close your eyes and touch your arm.
You will certainly feel that, but keep your finger there for a few moments. Eventually your sense of touch becomes accustomed to the feeling of your arm and no longer reports it to your brain; you will no longer feel anything. The same thing happens for all your senses (which is why you can't tell when your own breath smells bad!)
The brain thirsts for novel experiences. Unique experiences activate different parts of the brain, strengthen your synapses and pump up the production of neurotrophins. So, break up your routines and try something new.
Most of us go through our daily lives with fairly fixed routines. We get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, and drive to work the same way every day. This isn't necessarily bad because it allows our brains to slowly speed up to meet the day, but it also doesn't give our brains any exercise. Since these routine tasks are carried out almost subconsciously, the brain uses almost no energy and makes no new associations or neural connections.
Even activities like doing the laundry or walking the dog can be so routine that you hardly even think about doing them. Each activity is a chance to give your brain some exercise and get it actually thinking.
Try to add some surprise or novelty into daily activities. For example, drive to work using a different route. This will prevent you from going on auto-pilot and getting to work without thinking about how you got there. The new path will provide new and interesting things to see which will stimulate your mind and make new associations.
What do you think people?
As for me it is an interesting method to control my restless mind!
Regards
Alan