A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas

by Warren Berger

sleeping can help people to perform better at solving difficult problems requiring a creative solution. (McNerney quoted an old John Steinbeck line: “A difficult problem at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.”) Similar research exists on daydreaming and its value in producing original, creative ideas. And everyone knows about the clichéd (but only because it’s true) idea-in-the-shower moment. The same neurological forces seem to be at work in all of these instances. The sleeping or relaxed brain cuts off distractions and turns inward, as the right hemisphere becomes more active, leading to periods of greater connectivity. Some of the same effects can be seen during walks (remember Edwin Land, pacing the grounds of his resort?), long drives, or other activities that distract the mind a little, but not too much.