“The Eureka Hunt: why do good ideas come to us when they do?” ~John Lehrer
Eureka is the insight experience.” The brain is a very intricate part of the body; it carries so many functions and is responsible for everything that we do. One of which is the writing process. In the article, “The Eureka Hunt” the author talks about being able to just relax and let the brain do what it does best. “If you’re in an environment that forces you to produce and produce, and you feel very stressed, then you’re not going to have any insights.”We are so busy stressing out about everything, forcing it to be creative under pressure that all we end up doing is just getting frustrated and experience writer’s block. This article demonstrates that the creative process should not be rushed it requires relaxation of the mind in order to have moments of Eureka. I never thought it of it but it does make a lot of sense. Whenever I try to rush the thought and writing process and especially when I am stressed, I can still produce something but it would not be as great when I actually sat down, let my mind relax and focus on the writing. And when that moment of Eureka occurs it becomes one of the most beautiful and exciting experiences. It could lead to masterpieces of the English Language such as Shakespeare’s works, You Don’t Love Yet by Jonathan Lethem, Emerson’s works, Milton’s Paradise Lost. Lehrer states, “insight… is like a revelation”, that moment of the light bulb popping into your head no words can describe the feeling.
How do we achieve these moments of eureka? Relaxation of course, the author states a research where a person is more likely to experience these great moments, “the relaxation phase is crucial… that’s why so many insights happens during warm showers…we do best of our thinking when we’re still half asleep.” I remember many times when I came up with solutions to problems just while taking a hot shower or bath, sometimes even topics for my short stories or poems.
The writing center at the University of Richmond should encourage their tutees to think ahead when it comes to writing their papers, relax and just let the Eureka moments come to them. Being stressed and writing a paper is not the best position to be in, especially when the writer’s block sets in. It would also make for a better tutoring session because the student will be better prepared and more aware of what they want to say and would have to rely on the tutor to help come up with ideas for the paper but instead use the writing center for what it was intended for; collaboration and transforming writing into beautiful arguments.
“An insight is a reconstructing of information- it’s seeing the same old thing in a completely new way.”
How do we achieve these moments of eureka? Relaxation of course, the author states a research where a person is more likely to experience these great moments, “the relaxation phase is crucial… that’s why so many insights happens during warm showers…we do best of our thinking when we’re still half asleep.” I remember many times when I came up with solutions to problems just while taking a hot shower or bath, sometimes even topics for my short stories or poems.
The writing center at the University of Richmond should encourage their tutees to think ahead when it comes to writing their papers, relax and just let the Eureka moments come to them. Being stressed and writing a paper is not the best position to be in, especially when the writer’s block sets in. It would also make for a better tutoring session because the student will be better prepared and more aware of what they want to say and would have to rely on the tutor to help come up with ideas for the paper but instead use the writing center for what it was intended for; collaboration and transforming writing into beautiful arguments.
“An insight is a reconstructing of information- it’s seeing the same old thing in a completely new way.”
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