more successful in achieving insights concerning other people’s problems than in solving their own
problems.
“The unconscious work goes on only over problems that are important to the waking mind, only when the mind’s possessor worries about them, only when he cares, passionately.” [Gerard, 1946]
• Relax and temporarily abandon the problem. Insight can be fostered as easily as this: simply pause for thought whenever you encounter anomalous data in your research or reading. Even more conducive conditions are the combination of mental relaxation with either physical relaxation or mild exercise [Platt and Baker, 1931]: walking on a beach or in the forest or between work and home, taking a bath, relaxing in bed just before falling asleep or just after awakening. Receptivity is needed to achieve the goal. Abel [1930] said:
“It is an old saying ever since Archimedes [with the cry, ‘Eureka!’] solved the problem of specific gravity in his bath tub. . . that discoveries are not made in the laboratories but in the bath tub, or during an afternoon or evening walk as in the case of Helmholtz, or in the watches of the night when the puzzled brain will not quiet down.”
Charles Darwin [1876] described his discovery of evolution by natural selection as follows: “I can remember the very spot in the road, whilst in my carriage, when to my joy the solution occurred to me.”
“Did not one of the great masters attain enlightenment upon hearing the splash of his own turd into the water?” [Matthiessen, 1978] I don’t know, but I doubt it.
“The fact that the attack is seemingly unsuccessful shows that something is wrong. Sometimes merely more information is required. Often, however, the difficulty arises from an incorrect interpretation of the facts at hand. . . In taking up any problem after a period of rest, we have the chance of leaving behind an erroneous point of view and of seizing upon one more fruitful.” [Platt and Baker, 1931]
“The archer hitteth the mark partly by pulling, partly by letting go.” [ancient Egyptian saying, cited by Leuba, 1925]
Apparently the subconscious is set working on a problem by our conscious thought and desire for a solution. It keeps working on the problem, trying out possible patterns even when (or especially when) the conscious mind has relaxed and stopped feeding it a variety of distracting extraneous facts.
As spring comes to the Arctic, the icebound rivers appear to be immune to the warming. Invisibly but pervasively, the ice slowly succumbs to spring’s warmth. Without warning, in a few deafening seconds all of the river ice breaks up and begins to flow. The pace of insight is like this breakup.
Additional circumstances, related to the four above, also favor insight. For example, Beveridge [1955] emphasizes the value of discussing ideas with other people. They have different perspectives, and one may benefit from those perspectives or from combining one’s knowledge with theirs. Their questions, as well as our need to frame answers in the context of their backgrounds, may force us out of the rut of established thought patterns and into a more fruitful perspective. They or we may spot faulty reasoning, during the explanation of things normally take for granted. Perhaps
