SNAP: Seizing Your Aha! Moments (repost)

Foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Deborah Blum, Author of The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
"Chance favors the prepared mind." —Louis Pasteur

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 likelihood of their own Eureka! moments by adopting certain rewarding attitudes and habits.

As Dr. Ramsland explains, snaps are much more than new ideas. Snaps are insights plus momentum—they instantly compel or 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 in 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.

Scanning involves learning such habits as watching for opportunities and ideas, setting goals, coordinating short- and long-term memory, and letting the mind wander creatively. Sifting has to do with our mental maps, developing mental flexibility, balancing practice and play, and shaping information into new patterns. Finally, solutions occur when trust in our inner resources outweighs perceived risk and we know when to stop thinking and relax.

Written in an accessible, jargon-free narrative, which weaves together the latest research with illuminating stories of innovative people, Snap teaches us how to cultivate our own inner epiphanies to gain an edge in business, career paths, and even our personal lives.