When an idea pops fully formed into your head

[Ryan_m_b]

Something's been bugging me lately. A while ago I read a book on consciousness (A very short introduction by Susan Blackmore) that outlined a term for when an idea get's subconsciously worked out and then arrives fully formed in your conscious. You know the type of thing when a problem at work/school has been troubling you for hours, you leave it and go do something else like cook dinner and halfway through peeling a potato the answer to your problem just appears in a flash of inspiration. There is a proper term in psychology/cognitive neuroscience to describe it.

The problem is I no longer have the book and I've forgotten the term! Googling "idea popped into head" and other variants isn't helping. Any ideas anyone??

[arildno]

Can't you just contact Susan Blackmore herself??
I've done similarly on a number of occasions with other professionals, and have usually got both an answer, and an informative one, as well.
http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/

[apeiron]

Do you mean incubation?

[Ryan_m_b]

Do you mean incubation?

Yes! Exactly this, thank you! :biggrin:


Can't you just contact Susan Blackmore herself??
I've done similarly on a number of occasions with other professionals, and have usually got both an answer, and an informative one, as well.
http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/

I would have done if I hadn't just got the answer. Thanks anyway!

[apeiron]

Yes! Exactly this, thank you! :biggrin:

It would have popped into your head anyway. :smile:

[Ryan_m_b]

It would have popped into your head anyway. :smile:

That would have been nice and ironic :tongue:

[alt]

This often happens to me when doing crosswords. I might sit there and agonise over a word for a long time, and still not get it. In disgust, I walk away from it. As I'm making a cup of tea, or sometimes, when I look at it again, it immediately jumps into my mind.

I figure that some suconscious calculation continues to occur when one's concious mind is removed from the task.

[Ryan_m_b]

This often happens to me when doing crosswords. I might sit there and agonise over a word for a long time, and still not get it. In disgust, I walk away from it. As I'm making a cup of tea, or sometimes, when I look at it again, it immediately jumps into my mind.

I figure that some suconscious calculation continues to occur when one's concious mind is removed from the task.

Isn't it worrying when your subconscious seems to be more intelligent than the conscious? lol

[HallsofIvy]

My experience is that when an idea "pops" fully formed into my head, it is invariably wrong!

[alt]

My experience is that when an idea "pops" fully formed into my head, it is invariably wrong!

It must have popped into your head fully formed then ?

[Hyperspace2]

is the following thing is an example of so called incubtion

Kekulé structure of benzene with alternating double bonds ... the ring shape of the benzene molecule after having a reverie or day-dream of a snake seizing ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_August_Kekulé_von_Stradonitz