The Eureka Factor: Aha Moments, Creative Insight, and the Brain

This book was very well written and very tough to put down. It seemed to be the perfect length and despite being co-authored, the writing styles of the authors meshed really well together. The authors are able to model what it takes to try to gain insights by tackling the premise from multiple angles of science, anecdotes, psychology and neuroscience but in a way that is accessible to anyone who does not have a science background. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories of insights from wide ranging fields and from some familiar people (Helen Keller, Einstein) as well as those who you haven't heard of (the designer of a golf club, a talented scientist who came up with multiple innovations that have impacted patients). I do enjoy reading about science and psychology and have explored the depths of Iain McGilchrist's work and I still gained a good bit of new information and insight from this book and I am 100% confident that anyone who reads it will too! Highly recommend and is a book that I will encourage my students to read as well!

Kounios & Beeman’s highly readable book illustrates with different sorts of evidence how our thinking sometimes makes a sudden shift towards insight and away from problem-focused, analytical thinking. These insights are fostered by positive mood, by travel and living in other cultures, and often by embracing the “big picture” at the expense of details. While people can be drummed into solving problems step by step, they can’t be coerced into creative insight through deadlines, threatening bosses, and especially a negative social climate. The authors provide classic examples of leaders in science and the arts who cultivated the “insight” experiences in their fields, and stuck with those insights to make amazing contributions from Helen Keller whose first linguistic associations with sign were remembered in her autobiography to Judah Folkman who originated the idea of angiogenesis to explain cancer growth. This book offers students of psychology and teachers and mentors from many different fields to consider what it takes to promote creativity, innovation and more “aha” moments. The last chapter offers key strategies to unleash creative thinking through simple routines encompassing meditation, an open and light workspace, and eliminating distraction. This is not only an excellent introduction to the topic of creative insight and neuroscience, but to many pioneers in social and cognitive psychology.

Brain science has inundated the world of leadership development. As an executive coach who happens to be married to a neuroscientist and neurologist I constantly am trying to separate the brilliance from the bunk and to find the useful bites I can share with clients and colleagues. The frequent response from my in-house neuro-expert when I quote or show him some new lay publication is an intense scowl and choice words. Not so here. Each trial balloon I have lobbed in his direction has been met approving nods and exclamations such as "that's good science." Kounios and Beeman do a wonderful job of sharing their own research and that of others in plain language, and offer thoughts on how to use this information in our own lives.

Beautifully written, scientifically informed, and (dare I say?) extremely insightful. This review of the science of "aha" experiences, by two widely respected cognitive neuroscientists, offers something for just about everyone. It could serve as a textbook example of how to translate laboratory research into a compelling and rich narrative that will be accessible to a general audience. The final chapter, on how to stimulate insight experiences, is worth the price of admission by itself. If you're looking for a great read, look no further. If you're looking for a book that could change how you think about thinking, you've found it.

The Eureka Factor Sudden, illuminating thoughts are not new phenomena; we often encounter such ideas throughout our lives. The authors, Kounios and Beeman, focus on these thoughts and try to delineate their nature, their relevance to our lives as well ad to examine how they could be tapped to improve problem solving techniques. Do these 'insights', as they are called, have any physical presence in our brain activity or are they merely passing thoughts of no specific character? Using brain imaging, by relying on EEG and MRI, it was observed that a key area in the right hemisphere of the brain lighted up during an insightful moment. This exciting discovery gave the authors enough evidence of the reality and distinctiveness of insight. It also attracted considerable attention in the fields of psychology and neuroscience as well as in the general media. It was agreed that more research was necessary. What became important was the differentiation between the two processes of problem solving. The old traditional approach called the 'analytical' depended on the use of logic and evaluation of incremental steps to arrive at a solution. In the new 'insightful' approach scientists discovered that if they could activate the brain to deliver solutions to the problem at hand it would lead to a quick and clear results. But, as could be imagined, the insightful approach was a big challenge as it could not be forced or manuvered ; it was usually sudden and untimely. This dichotomy between the 'analytical' and the 'insightful' approaches to problem solving became the central issue in this book. Perhaps the reader might be excused for asking: of what practical use are all these tests and studies if the insightful approach is so elusive and unreliable? The authors realising this tried to introduce ways and means of activating the brain to generate the desired insight as and when needed. Some of their suggestions: concentrate on the problem, get enough sleep, clear your mind of other issues, create a relaxing atmosphere away from noise and glare, use soft music... etc. These and others seemed to help, but they required time and patience - two features that are surely scarce in our busy lives these days. Interestingly, the authors make only brief reference to the old, tried approach which could be tested by all of us: Focus on the problem at bedtime; have a good night sleep; wake up and check your thoughts in the morning, and, Eureka! your insight will be (should be) there!! Fuad R Qubein March, 2017

The brain is quite the organ. As research and technology progress, so does the wealth of knowledge on how the brain does its job - and how the "Eureka" moments come about. I must say that I couldn't help thinking about the animated film Hemo the Magnificent, which I saw in grammar school back in the late 1960s/early 1970s. The Eureka Factor presents the material in a way that is accessible to the lay person who is interested in reading about some of the brain's inner workings based in science. I still, however, believe in some of the less scientific theories about nothing ever being coincidental (like how the author's met each other) and a few things that will always seem a bit new-agey to hard core scientists. To take it all a step further, there are data and measurements included through the use of EEG and FMRI imaging technology to reinforce what's being explained. Mark Beeman and John Kounios, the authors, deserve props for making the material interesting and accessible to people (like me) without an intense neuroscience education or background (although I picked up a few concepts back in the late 1980s when I worked for the Neurosciences Institute at Rockefeller University as a Bibliographer before it moved out to La Jolla). In other words, they don't talk down to the reader or present the material in too esoteric a way. And nearly all of the concepts are backed up by examples and clear explanations on the nature of insight (the Eureka! or the A-ha! moment). I had a couple of slight issues with the way I think about certain concepts such as how we are "the" species with the ability to experience the Eureka factor. I was thinking about a friend's dog who had figured out how to break into the cabinet or fridge for treats or food. He knew not to do it when someone was around. How did he learn that? By getting scolded a few times and then learning to try it when no one was home. To me, that says insight (A-ha! If no one is home to stop me...). It ended with safety clasps on the cabinets and fridge. You could attribute this type of behavior to the concept of reward and punishment but still, that moment when the dog understands... It's interesting how they also acknowledge the effectiveness of melancholy on creative types who experience bursts of creative insight during bouts of depression (which validates my theory that Billy Joel did his best work when he was miserable - before and after his marriage to Christie Brinkley - as his body of work during that time proves, but that's just me). The same goes for writers, artists and other creative (intuitive) types who are much broader thinkers than the non-creative (analytical). Additionally, the book includes a bunch of exercises and quizzes for assessing one's own cognitive behavior, stuff about the brain's hemispheres, how the moment of insight comes about and how it solves problems. This is quite a fascinating read. One that I may have to go back to for a second read. Recommend.

Very prompt delivery. Fairly priced. Book was in excellent condition.

This readable and brilliant work is a pleasure to study.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. For the first time I've come across a psychology book that is clearly written, easy to understand by someone with a bit of a science background but not an expert in this subject. The anecdotes and examples provided by the authors bring the ideas to life, and everything in it is underpinned by science. It gives a clear picture of how the brain works and dispels some of the myths out there that oversimplify such as being left or right brained. If you want to learn how to become more creative or a clearer thinker, this book will explain what is going on in your brain and actually what you can do about it.

Very interesting and easy to read because of a humourus way or writing and many tips to get to the aha moment.

Un livre fascinant qui nous explique les principes de la créativité!

One learns everyday. Great book.

Good read based on scientific proof rather than conjecture. Would have liked some 'how todos' and some practical qui dance