December Read/2

Title: Snap: Seizing Your Aha! Moments

Author: Ramsland, Katherine

Call Number: 153.3 R183S 2012

Subject(s): Inspiration; Creative Thinking

Number of Pages: 283

ISBN: 9781616144647

Book Description (from amazon.com):

            Sudden flashes of inspiration have triggered many discoveries and inventions throughout history. Are such aha! moments merely random, or is there a way to train the brain to harness these seemingly unpredictable creative insights? This fascinating overview of the latest neuroscience findings on spontaneous thought processes, or "snaps," describes how everyone—not just geniuses—can learn to improve the likelihood of their own "eureka" moments by adopting certain rewarding attitudes and habits.
As the author explains, snaps are much more than new ideas. Snaps are insights plus momentum—they instantly compel or snap us toward action. They often occur after ordinary problem solving hits an impasse. We may feel stuck, but while we’re in a quandary, the brain is rebooting. Then, when we least expect it, the solution pops into our heads. She describes the results of numerous scientific experiments studying this phenomenon. She also recounts intriguing stories of people in diverse disciplines who have had a snap experience. Both the research and the stories illustrate that it’s possible to enhance our facility for snap moments by training ourselves to scan, sift, and solve.
In the emerging economy, businesses and individuals need new strategies, and it’s clear that just thinking harder no longer works. People who can snap are often a step ahead: they have a vigilance advantage from exercising brain cells that build mental agility. While snapping is rewarding, fun, and good for improving our mental skills, it’s also much more: people who snap life-changing ideas that affect many others will redirect our future.
Written in an accessible, jargon-free narrative that weaves together the latest research with illuminating stories of innovative people, this book teaches us how to cultivate our own inner epiphanies to gain an edge in our imaginations, our careers, our goals—indeed, in every aspect of our lives.

My Read:

            The following from page30 describes how brain snaps:

“Sudden insight involves a complex series of brain states that require more neural resources than methodical thinking does. The formula is simple: one must have specific knowledge and experience, a challenge within one’s field of expertise, an efforts to meet the challenge, and a period of mental surrender. Both the left and right hemispheres of the brain must be activated to work together. While many people believe that such insight is completely random, those who apply themselves know better. Snaps can’t be forced, but they can be prompted-even in desperate life-threatening situations.”-page 30

            Page 44 has a statement addressed from Aristotle: The potential is within us, so anything of which we are capable is our potential. Page 45, a quote from the late folklorist Joseph Campbell, states: “Our bliss is our sense of purpose.” Then the author states at the same page that “each of us has skills and talents that collectively move us toward authentic self-expression.”

            Page 119 states: “The habit of focus keeps us awake and alert.” “We are all capable of achieving peak performance in the pursuit of quality and creativity. Those who make it a priority are more apt to develop the frame of mind, neurologically speaking, that snaps.” Page 140 says: “So, cognitive maps that influence body memories are representations of our relationship to the world around us.” Page 141 says: “People who snap are often confident of their knowledge, clear about their goals, and engaged with their work in a way that has little cognizance of time or office hours.”

            Page 176 states: “The best conditions for a snap involve work that feels like play.” This reminds me of the saying from the ancient Chinese sage, Confucius. He said “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” The workplace could be the playground you found enabling you to enjoy what you do, who you are, and a place you have sense of purpose and meaning.

            Personally, I found a quote from Michael Jackson at page 176 that touched my heart. Michael said: “I want to use my gifts to help others figure out what their gifts are.” According to the author, Michael Jackson was innovative who was a pathfinder, the light on the path, and the one at the rear who kept other moving.

            The Aha moment felt wonderful for I had such moment years ago. In that winter afternoon at the Borders Bookstore I came to a phrase from a book written by Robert Parker which got me realized that English, a learned language I have had struggle with, have become an art to me, not just a foreign language. The road to fully comprehension of the language stays far-fetched. The mindset, on the other hand, has changed.