Unleashing Your Creativity
6/1/202653 min
For centuries, people have described creativity as something mysterious: a flash of insight, a whisper from the muse, a sudden idea that seems to arrive out of nowhere. Psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis explores the hidden mental processes that lead to these moments of inspiration, and why breakthroughs often emerge when the mind is at rest.
Should you worry about your memory? For many of us, forgetting a name or losing your keys feels like a small failure. But what if forgetting is actually one of the most important things your brain does? Check out our new video on the surprising (and reassuring!) science of forgetting to learn more.
Episode illustration by Chloe for Unsplash+
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First 90 secondsShankar Vedantam· Host0:00
This is Hidden Brain. I'm Shankar Vedantam. [gentle music] Across centuries, artists and writers have tried to make sense of the mysterious force that brings ideas to life. The ancient Greeks imagined the muse as a literal spirit, a whispering goddess who breathed inspiration into the poet's ear. Renaissance painters courted her through ritual and prayer, while romantic poets looked for her in storms, mountain peaks, and moonlit walks. Now, psychological research is discovering that what the ancients called divine inspiration is really the brain at play. When we are relaxed, taking a shower, folding laundry, staring out a window, our minds slip into a pattern of spontaneous association. Neurons fire across disparate brain regions, linking old memories with half-formed ideas. Then, suddenly, an insight bubbles up. It feels like a gift from the heavens, but it's really the product of our own unconscious minds. This week on Hidden Brain, and in a companion story on Hidden Brain Plus, the origins of creativity and how to find the muse within.