100 More Things #158: INDUCE AN AHA MOMENT

We’ve all had the experience: you’re trying to solve a problem or come up with a new idea. You’ve been sitting at your desk, or discussing it in meetings, but you haven’t come up with a solution or the right idea. Then you step away—go for a walk, go to lunch, do some housework, or go to sleep (engage the default network)—and suddenly you have an aha moment. The answer comes to you in a flash. Why does that happen?

So far this chapter has discussed the first two steps in the creative process:

1. Setting the problem or idea with the executive attention network.
2. Stepping away to engage the default network.

The aha solution comes from the third network involved in the creative process: the salience network.

The Monitor

The salience network constantly monitors everything that’s going on in your brain. It monitors the stream of information coming in externally from the senses, and it monitors the executive attention network and the default network. The salience network monitors it all. It compares all the possible alternatives that the default network came up with against the problem or idea set in the executive attention network. When it finds the best (most salient) alternative, the salience network brings that idea to consciousness, and you have the aha moment.

The salience network works best if you’ve asked a clear question or posed a clear problem or idea in the executive attention network, and if you’ve stepped away and stopped using your prefrontal cortex so that the default network has been engaged.

Three Networks Working Together

People who are productively creative follow a process that includes these three networks. Your creative process may be specific to you, but to maximize your creativity, be sure you’re using the three networks. Here’s an example of the process:

1. Write down your initial ideas in a notebook or draw a picture of the problem you want to solve. It doesn’t matter what the format is as long as you spend some concentrated time focusing on the problem. This is the executive attention network.
2. Step away, whether it’s to take a walk, listen to music, or clean the house. It doesn’t matter how you do it as long as you step away. This is the default network.
3. Be prepared to grab the aha ideas when they come. Because the salience network does its work behind the scenes, you don’t have to do anything in particular to get it to work.

Takeaways

• Your creative process should include time to concentrate on the idea or problem.
• Your creative process should include time to step away.
• Always carry a recording device or pen and paper with you, because you never know when the salience network will do its work and provide you with an answer.
• When you’re problem solving or working creatively with a team, follow the same steps as you would for solo problem solving.