By Katherine Ramsland
You
know the feeling: You’re at an impasse with a character or plot point and you
can’t seem to dissolve it. You’re frustrated, perhaps desperate. It’s going
nowhere, but you’re on a deadline. You’ve run out of ways to spur your muse.
Consider
this: Don’t work so hard. The less you push, the better your chances of getting
what you need. Your brain actually requires
some space to do its best work.
Science
fiction writer Isaac Asimov realized this. Whenever he experienced writer’s block,
he knew it was useless to force the issue. So, he’d go to a movie. He let his
subconscious process the material in its own way. Once he returned, he invariably
had new ideas. (I’ve tried this, and it works.)
Many
writers, inventors, scientists, and artists have discovered the same thing. The
solution arrives – aha! – seemingly from nowhere. But these moments seem so
random, as of those people just got lucky.
The
truth is that you – any of you – can
harness your resources to produce them. According to recent neuroscience
research, with a little work you can prime your brain for “aha! moments.” You
can also provoke them on a regular basis. They’re a direct result of balancing
work and play.
I call them “snaps,” because the flash of genius that
really counts is more than just a shift of consciousness or new perspective.
Snaps contain the trigger for momentum—they break through the impasse and snap us into action to switch strategy.
So, first, you left brain work: do your research. Be diverse. Gather lots of
different types of data, including items unrelated to your project. This “idea
stew” forms your knowledge base.
Consider these examples:
·
*Jonas
Salk was working on a cure for polio in a dark basement in Pittsburgh. He
failed time and again, so he went to Italy to wander through a monastery.
There, he experienced a rush of ideas, including the one for the polio vaccine.
*Friedrich
Nietzsche was out for a walk in the mountains when his famous Zarathustra tale
tumbled forth.
*Martin
Cooper was watching Star Trek when he
first envisioned the cell phone.
*J.
K. Rowling was on a stalled train when she snapped on a child wizard. “I simply
sat and thought, for four (delayed) hours,” she said, “and all the details
bubbled up in my brain.”
So, walk, juggle, take a nap, or take a shower: do
something that eases the left brain’s cognitive load. Give it the break it
needs to stir up your idea stew and find a delightful aha! insight.
Bio
for Katherine Ramsland
I have been writing for over two
decades, in several formats and genres. I started with an academic book about a
philosopher, but then I wrote commercial biographies of Anne Rice and Dean
Koontz. Shortly thereafter, I got involved in immersion journalism and penned a
book about my exploration of the vampire subculture, followed by one on ghost
hunters and another about people in the death business. At this time I was
teaching philosophy at Rutgers University, but I left to get another grad
degree in forensic psychology, which changed the focus of my writing entirely.
I now teach psychology at DeSales University and have extensive
experience in researching and writing about criminal psychology and forensic
science.
I have published more than 1,000 articles and 47 books, including Psychopath,
The Ivy League Killer, The Vampire Trap, The Forensic Psychology of
Criminal Minds, The Human Predator: A Historical Chronicle of Serial Murder and
Forensic Investigation, Inside the Minds of Serial Killers and Inside
the Minds of Sexual Predators. Additionally, I have published two vampire
thrillers, The Heat Seekers and The
Blood Hunters. My latest books are Blood
and Ghosts and Snap! Seizing Your
Aha! Moments.
I train homicide officers, attorneys, and coroners, and speak
internationally about forensic psychology, forensic science, serial murder, and
narrative nonfiction. I have appeared on numerous documentaries, as well as on
such programs as The Today Show, 20/20, 48 Hours, Larry King Live
and E! True Hollywood Story. I was also the recurring expert on the ID
network for Born to Kill and the American
Occult series, and I’ve consulted for CSI and Bones. I have a
blog on the Psychology Today site
called Shadow Boxing, and my forthcoming e-book this summer is The Sex Beast.
Connect with Katherine:
Book
description:
Sudden flashes of inspiration
have triggered many discoveries and inventions throughout history. Are such
Aha! moments merely random or is there a way to train the brain to harness
these seemingly unpredictable creative insights? In this fascinating overview
of the latest neuroscience findings on spontaneous thought processes or
“snaps,” Dr. Katherine Ramsland describes how everyone can learn to improve the
chances of achieving their own Eureka! moments by adopting certain attitudes
and habits. Snaps are much more than new ideas. Snaps are insights plus
momentum—they instantly snap us toward action. They often occur after ordinary
problem solving hits an impasse. We may feel stuck, but while we’re in a
quandary, the brain is rebooting. Then, when we least expect it, the solution
pops into our heads.
Ramsland describes the
results of numerous scientific experiments studying this phenomenon. She also
recounts intriguing stories of people of all ages and from diverse disciplines
who have had a snap experience. Both the research and the stories illustrate
that it’s possible to enhance our facility for snap moments by training
ourselves to scan, sift, and solve. SNAP teaches us how to cultivate our own
inner epiphanies to gain an edge in business, career paths, and even our
personal lives.
Praise:
“This is a fascinating exploration of the mind
when it's in hyperdrive, as illuminating as it is fun to read.” – Dean Koontz
“In this entertaining and
thought-provoking study, Ramsland explores the phenomenon of sudden insight—‘a
dramatic brilliance that floods the mind and clicks into place’--which she
calls the ‘snap.’” – PW
“You may reach the end…and think, ‘Aha!
I feel smarter than I did before I read this book.’”– Deborah Blum
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