| Summary: | Theoretical physicist Leonard Mlodinow knows that good ideas don't come easily. Creative, original thinking is actually a lot harder to achieve than just tuning out, as the brain puts a lot of filters and biases on ideas before they come out. Some of these filters are applied through learned experience: for example, you're not going to be able to truly tap into creativity if you're focused on whether your potential idea will fail or not, nor are you going to be able to think creatively if you're distracted. The human brain is constantly coming up with ideas in the subconscious mind but few make it past these filters. But if you focus, and allow your brain to relax, those ideas can bubble up into the conscious mind more and more often. Leonard Mlodinow's latest book is Elastic: Flexible Thinking in a Time of Change.
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