How to promote the emergence of insights?

There are certain actions that favor the appearance of the so-called "eureka moment".

One of the most striking experiences for anyone who spends part of his or her time solving problems, whether at a personal or professional level, is that of insight, also known as the "eureka moment", after the expressionafter the expression used by Archimedes when he discovered his famous principle.

This psychological phenomenon occurs when we find, suddenly and unexpectedly, the long-sought solution to a challenge.. It usually occurs at a time when we are not working on that search, or at least not consciously. Its appearance is usually accompanied by an intense mental activation, and even euphoria, as well as a pleasant and relaxing physical sensation. In addition, the solutions found are usually of high quality, which further reinforces the sensations already described.

However, this much-desired phenomenon cannot be generated at will, something that would otherwise be very useful on a day-to-day basis. Insights may or may not arise, and we never know when, or even if, they will arise. On the other hand, we can block it voluntarily; all we have to do is actively seek it out so that it never happens. So how can we harness it to solve our challenges?

The paradox of cognitive blocking

The paradox in the functioning of insight, the fact that trying to reach it directly leads us to be cognitively blocked, has a lot to do with how our brain processes information.. Basically, and to use a simple analogy, it is like a computer; we can use it in a linear way, that is, using one application at a time and then another, or we can open many simultaneous applications and have them all working simultaneously.

If we are talking about the brain, we can use it to think logically about one issue which in turn leads to another related idea and so on, until we find the solution to the problem we are trying to solve, or we can use it in parallel, where all the problems we are trying to solve are addressed at once, and combinations are explored that, a priori, would not make any sense..

As happens on a computer, if we open a very complex application that consumes a lot of resources, the resources available for the other applications are reduced; the system slows down, and sometimes even crashes. But if we work with many lightweight applications, they can all work in parallel to achieve their own goals.

Logical and conscious thinking consumes a lot of resourcesThis means that the rest of the processes are left without them. On the other hand, if we free all those resources consumed by logic and consciousness, they become available for the rest of the mental processes and, curiously enough, all of them start working in parallel.

How to promote the emergence of insight?

When we are children, we all come from the factory with the innate ability to work in parallel mode (those blank moments with our gaze lost beyond the blackboard) but, in an attempt to develop our capacity for concentration and linear thinking, we have to develop our capacity for concentration and linear thinking, the educational process tends to reinforce the latter to the detriment of the parallel mode, which is frowned upon (to be in a state of inopia).which is frowned upon (being in a state of inopia), thus generating habits that we are no longer able to deactivate.

In this way, most of the time our brain works in a linear way, using a large amount of resources and limiting the options and possibilities we should explore to find original solutions to the challenges we face.

That said, the key to empowering insights and maximizing the chances of making it happen is in re-learning how to re-enter that "forgotten" parallel thinking mode..

To help us in that task, techniques such as contemplation (commonly "getting stuck") or meditation are very useful tools, because they help us to re-educate the way in which we we shift the focus of our conscious attention and how we open or close the breadth of that focus more effectively.

However, like any Biological process, the continued practice of these techniques gradually enhances their effectiveness, eventually becoming able to voluntarily modulate the time and depth at which we enter into this form of parallel processing.

Behind this simple explanation there are, however, a large number of neural mechanisms that are currently being intensively investigated in research centers around the world. Knowing them is an exciting process that also brings many benefits both personally and professionally.

Bibliographical references:

• Hill, G.; Kemp, S. M. (2016). Uh-Oh! What Have We Missed? A Qualitative Investigation into Everyday Insight Experience. The Journal of Creative Behavior. 52 (3): 201 - 211.