My brain is constantly throwing up solutions to things I thought I was no longer thinking about. Clearly, processing goes on in the "back room" while we attend to other things.
I'd like to think of these as inspirations, but... they are not random and probably not even inspired, they are usually the result of having done the legwork and sometimes getting so close to something it becomes hard to evaluate, like working on an essay or novel so long you can no longer know if it's good... you have to get some distance (put it away for a few days or weeks) to see it with fresh eyes.
During this break, some things are forgotten and others are turned over, evaluated without our conscious awareness. This is often when solutions or insights pop to mind.
It just happened to me this morning. A few days ago I had been trying to solve a computer-graphics related problem and wasn't sure how to go about it. After numerous fruitless attempts, I put it aside. I woke up this morning and there it was... a strategy that didn't occur to me while I was consciously trying to solve it. But I don't think it would have bubbled to the surface if I hadn't already had a reasonably good understanding of the subject matter. I suspect that inspiration is 90% preparation.
I'd like to think of these as inspirations, but... they are not random and probably not even inspired, they are usually the result of having done the legwork and sometimes getting so close to something it becomes hard to evaluate, like working on an essay or novel so long you can no longer know if it's good... you have to get some distance (put it away for a few days or weeks) to see it with fresh eyes.
During this break, some things are forgotten and others are turned over, evaluated without our conscious awareness. This is often when solutions or insights pop to mind.
It just happened to me this morning. A few days ago I had been trying to solve a computer-graphics related problem and wasn't sure how to go about it. After numerous fruitless attempts, I put it aside. I woke up this morning and there it was... a strategy that didn't occur to me while I was consciously trying to solve it. But I don't think it would have bubbled to the surface if I hadn't already had a reasonably good understanding of the subject matter. I suspect that inspiration is 90% preparation.