Imagine: How Creativity Works Imagine: How Creativity Works by
Jonah Lehrer Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Stop concentrating. Or at
least focus less. Because taking a direct approach to solving
problems thwarts creativity, according to New York journalist
Jonah Lehrer. 'While it's commonly assumed that the best way to
solve a difficult problem is to relentlessly focus, this
clenched state of mind comes with a hidden cost: it inhibits the
sort of creative connections that lead to breakthroughs. We
suppress the very type of brain activity that should be
encouraged,' Lehrer writes in his new book Imagine: How
Creativity Works. His solution: take a walk in the park, say;
play ping pong, the way Google staff can; take a shower. Ideas
pop into your head when you are distracted, Lehrer says. Thank
'alpha waves'. Originating mostly from the brain's mysterious
occipital lobe, these happen while you are relaxed. If that
sounds New Agey, consider the case of the Zen monk studied by
neuroscientists Mark Beeman and John Kouni