"The intuitive mind is a scared gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." - Albert Einstein
In his new book Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, Daniel Coleman has a chapter on "The value of the mind adrift." A few quotes:
"Every variety of attention has its uses. The very fact that about half of our thoughts are daydreams suggests there may well be some advantages to a mind that can entertain the fanciful. We might revise our own thinking about a 'wandering mind,' by considering that rather than wandering away from what counts, we may well be wandering toward something of value."
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"Since the brain stores different kinds of information in wide-reaching circuitry, a freely roaming awareness ups the odds of serendipitous associations and novel combinations."
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"The nonstop onslaught of email, texts, bills to pay - 'life's full catastrophe' - throws us into a brain state antithetical to the open focus where serendipitous discoveries thrive. In the tumult of our daily distractions and to-do lists, innovation dead-ends; in open time it flourishes. That's why the annals of discovery are rife with tales of brilliant insights during a walk or a bath, on a long ride or vacation. Open time lets the creative spirit flourish; tight schedules kill it."
Source: Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence
Image: Statue of Albert Einstein, Vail, Colorado. Copyright CyberMed, LLC