Quotes from the book "Eureka Factor"

Quotes from the book "Eureka Factor". Really interesting and insightful book.

Analytic thinking is well suited to familiar situations.

Zen Buddhism -  Satori - Acquiring a new viewpoint for looking into the essence of things.

Flynn effect - startled the world: Average raw scores have been increasing. The worldwide "new normal" has been getting better and better. We don't yet know for sure why this is happening, but the numbers don't lie. People are getting smarter.

Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). Over time in the TTCT raw scores in the United States and concluded that, on average, people seem to be becoming less creative over time.

--Based on the above two quotes, people are getting smarter but less creative over time.

The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones, which ramify, for those brought up as most of us have been, into every corner of our minds.

The solution to a problem may seem obvious after the fact, but that doesn't mean that it was obvious beforehand. This is what's meant by the phrase "Columbus's egg". It's an idea that is obvious only in hindsight.

Everything you do has the potential to limit what you do next. Everything you think has the potential to limit what you think next. And you won't even know that this is happening.

The fact is that you are the sum total of your experiences, even fleeting ones. Your past informs your assumptions, beliefs, and expectations but also limits your ability to think and act flexibly.

The human brain is, at its core, an anticipation machine.

Never settle for a complicated explanation when a simple one will do the job. This is known as "Occam's razor".

When you solve a problem or get an idea. There are three possibilities, only one of which is true insight.

The brain's right hemisphere is usually the point of origin for creative ideas.

The right hemisphere provides the spark that ignites the creative fire.

The alpha burst is a "brain blink" that briefly cuts off visual inputs to the brain to reduce distraction. This allows one's attention to find the new idea and jolt it into consciousness.

How a good mood and relaxing walks in the country stoked his creativity.

Strong association between increased happiness on certain days and important breakthroughs at work on the following day or two.

If you're sad, then you'll tend to think of sad things, even to the point of interpreting ambiguous situations negatively. Likewise, happy people tend to have positive thoughts and interpretations.

No matter where you go or what you do, you live your entire life within the confines of your head.

Remember, your brain knows more than you do, but it doesn't know everything.

You are most analytical at your peak time and most insightful at your off-peak time. For creativity, your finest hour is literally the low point of your day.

Money can't buy love, but it can certainly attract suitors.

The beast can't just be erased. Instead, you have to narrow your conceptual attention and focus on something else to exclude the pink elephant from consciousness.

Psychological distance primes this mental broadening. 

So, to empower creative thought, you should imagine unusual people, alternate realities, and the distant future. Think about a loved one. Take in the view - and broaden it. Visit or envision faraway places and cultures. Ponder "what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars".

The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.

People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first.

Maintain your openness to spontaneous realizations. 

Expansive surroundings will help you to induce the creative state.

Enforced change and adaptation will destabilize entrenched thoughts through fixation, forgetting to lubricate your mind for breakthrough ideas.

The first is to implement a single change. For example, you can alter a part of your regular routine to disrupt entrenched thought patterns.

Happy Reading !!!