Eureka! Increasing the Odds of a Sudden Flash of Insight

A new study suggests that the secret to “A-ha” moments may be ensuring your brain has time to clean out clutter.

At a time when the capabilities of artificial intelligences seem to be growing by leaps and bounds at an incredible pace, it’s comforting to remember that there are certain cognitive processes that continue to feel distinctly human. I want to talk about one of those processes today. It’s the idea of “eureka”: a sudden flash of insight, where the solution to a puzzle or a problem or a mystery just sort of “clicks”.

When we think about these moments, several features come to mind. First, there is that suddenness. It’s not that you slowly improve at solving a problem, you slowly improve and slowly improve and then — all of a sudden — you dramatically improve. Then there’s the timing of the insight — it’s variable. Given the same puzzle, some people “get it” quickly, some take longer. And, of course, some people never get it at all.

This process seems so singular, so qualitative, that it may appear like it would be impossible to study. But a study of sudden insight is exactly what we’re going to be exploring today. Let’s see if it clicks.