At Home: Showered with Inspiration
Are you a daydreamer? Do you think up your best ideas while taking a shower or going for a run? You’re not crazy?and You’re not alone.
As The Globe and Mail reports, certain settings are more conducive to creativity and invention?and It’s not necessarily a quiet office with all the modern technological paraphernalia. According to scientists, activities that don’t require much ?concentration on any aspect of the task at hand? lend themselves easily to inspiration.
It’s a function of our constantly-active brains. Scientists are now realizing that ?the brain is a pro-active system that is continually at work helping us solve problems and prepare for future demands.?
In other words, when we’re proudly multi-tasking, our brains are so busy planning its next several moves that there’s little room for the associative thought That’s led to inventions and creative genius throughout history.
To encourage this type of spontaneous thought, It’s recommended that we add in ?a slight distraction,? like music, or work to ?improve . . . mood? in order to keep our focus broad and connected.
Around the World: Group Smarts
What’s smarter than a group of geniuses gathered together to solve a problem? It’s not a trick question, but the answer’s still a surprise.
As the National Geographic Daily News reports, a new study suggests that the total smartness of a problem-solving group isn’t the sum of its parts. In fact, that group of individual geniuses might not work as effectively as a group that ?contains people who are more ?socially sensitive?? and ?better able to discern emotions from people’s faces.?
Also higher in so-called collective intelligence: those groups where ?more people . . . took turns speaking.?
It’s interesting research in these globalized times. As study leader, Carnegie Mellon University professor Anita Williams Woolley told reporters, ?As our world becomes flatter and more interconnected, It’s not as important to consider what an individual can do by themselves but what they can do collectively.?
The results of the study have widespread application: from business think thanks to military strategy sessions, the possibilities are endless. It could even ?help people succeed in group therapy.?
But perhaps this shouldn’t come as a surprise. In the natural world, animals that work together can accomplish more than those that operate solo. For example, Woolley told reporters, ?ants are simple creatures but collectively can accomplish things that are amazing.?
Proof that working together really expands and extends normal human limitations.
