Flashes Of Insight Research Articles

True Insights from False Memories

Psychology Archimedes is reputed to have solved the problem of determining whether silver had been substituted for gold in a votive crown after a flash of insight as he bathed. Suppose, however, that instead of stepping into a full bathtub, he had been asked by his local psychologist to recall words from a list that he had just heard—a list that did not contain the word “water” but did contain words such as bath, wash, and tub. Would Archimedes have still have cried, “Eureka!”? Howe et al. show that he very probably would have. They demonstrate that using the classical Deese/Roediger-McDermott paradigm to prime a false memory that a target word is on a list of topically related words enabled people to answer more accurately and rapidly when challenged on compound remote associate tasks where the target word was the correct answer. An example of such a task would be to come up with the word “water” when presented with the three words sea, melon, and skiing. Furthermore, this performance increment was observed even when people were simply exposed to the lists, indicating that the automatic generation of the false memory, which is thought to occur during encoding of the list, was sufficient to improve problem solving. Cognition 117 , 10.1016/j.cognition.2010.08.009 (2010).

Flashes of Insight as Feminist Epistemology

Critics have often noted that Karen Finley performs in a trance, seemingly possessed by the violent, disgusting and desperate characters she has so famously embodied. According to the Village Voice’s C. Carr, she doesn’t rehearse her pieces but, instead, conducts extensive research and then, when the time comes to perform, turns “inside herself” and “slip[s] into that personalized primeval ooze,” disappearing so completely that she doesn’t recognize herself in videos of her own performances (141). In my own work as a director, I’ve had to rely on something “inside myself” that is not quite the rational, analytic set of skills upon which I usually call to solve problems. Sometimes, a scene isn’t working, and no matter how long I spend pouring over my script or staring at the set trying to fix it logically, it still doesn’t work. And then I have to remind myself to trust that, when I get into the rehearsal space with my actors and stay relaxed and receptive, the answers will come, most likely in a flash of insight at the perfect moment. During these perfect moments, I don’t experience the same kind of dramatic possessions that Carr describes, but I think this difference is one of degree and not of kind.

The Politics of Copying: Le Corbusier's ‘Immaculate Conceptions’

When describing his ‘intuitive flashes of insight’, Le Corbusier pointed to the universal and eternal sources of his genius, thus asserting his modernist originality. At the same time, he omitted, erased and obliterated unwanted references from his biographies and archives. Faced with such omissions and erasures, historians have been reduced either to inventing grand narratives (e.g., Colin Rowe and Emil Kaufmann), or to describing the secrets of the Œuvre Complete as ‘Immaculate Conceptions’ (Tim Benton). This article addresses the methodological problem of developing art historical explanations in the face of such omissions, erasures and obliterations. The article considers a recently discovered hand-written entry in a ‘lost’ Jeanneret / Le Corbusier notebook, which indicates that he might have ‘apprenticed’ himself to a relatively forgotten modernist architect of the late eighteenth-century, Francois-Joseph Belanger, whose own Œuvre Complete was undergoing a revival in France in the early twentieth century. In a postscript, I describe my discovery, after finishing the article, of a much-used book about Belanger in the personal library of Le Corbusier. The article considers the implications for Modernist architecture, poised on the knife-edge between the nineteenth-century tradition of copying (Boime) and the modernist strategy of originality (Shiff), and for the practice of architectural history.

Decisions on Fire

Decisions on Fire

Bookshelf

The first book review, "An Internal Debate and a Flash of Insight," discusses Great Software Debates by Alan M. Davis. The second review, "How to Avoid Writing Vulnerable Code," discusses The Software Vulnerability Guide by Herbert H. Thompson and Scott G. Chase.

A Look Back at Quantifying Oceanic Bioluminescence: Seeing the Light, Flashes of Insight and Other Bad Puns

A Look Back at Quantifying Oceanic Bioluminescence: Seeing the Light, Flashes of Insight and Other Bad Puns

Heuristics and representational change in two-move matchstick arithmetic tasks

Consider the anecdote of King Hiero asking Archimedes to prove that the amount of gold in his newly made crown equals the amount of gold given to the goldsmiths. Archimedes considers the problem for some time, and becomes stuck in an impasse – he simply cannot see a solution. Some days later when taking a bath, he notices that his body displaces the water in the bath tub. Immediately, he has his flash of insight and runs naked through the streets, crying out “Eureka! – I have found it” (Gruber, 1995). Archimedes clearly had the necessary knowledge to solve the problem, so why was it so hard for him to gain his insight? How was he able to overcome the impasse in which he was stuck? Insight is still a “mysterious” phenomenon within problem solving literature. Currently, there are at least two theoretical accounts that try to explain the processes involved in insight problem solving in order to “demystify insight” (Bowden et al. 2005): The first stresses the importance of heuristics (MacGregor, Ormerod, & Chronicle, 2001); the second stresses the necessity of a representational change (Ohlsson, 1992). In this paper we make a further attempt to systematically disentangle the influence of heuristics ABSTRACT

Of heretics and heroes

![][1] The Heretic in Darwin's Court: The Life of Alfred Russel Wallaceby Ross A. SlottenColumbia University Press, New York,NY, USA602 pp, $39.50ISBN 0231130104 Long ago and far away, there lived a humble collector of birds and insects who, during a bout of malaria, had a flash of insight that helped to change the world. That man was Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913), and the insight was the nature of the force for biological change known as natural selection. Excited by his discovery, he dashed off an essay on the idea and sent it to a man he hardly knew, Charles Darwin, who he hoped might think it worthy of forwarding to a then even more prominent naturalist, the geologist Charles Lyell, who Wallace felt might find the subject interesting. Little did he know that Darwin had entertained similar ideas for some 20 years, although he had not yet put his thoughts in print. Darwin was dumbstruck: a major threat to his priority now loomed. He appealed to Lyell and another of his naturalist friends, the botanist Joseph Hooker, for advice on what to do. They intervened on his behalf, attaching a couple of Darwin's unpublished descriptions of natural selection to Wallace's manuscript, and presented the lot at the next meeting of the Linnean Society of London, UK, on 1 July … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif

The Cubist Painters by Guillaume Apollinaire, and: Apollinaire and Cubism by Peter Read (review)

500 Reviews lenges us to exercise that 'one thing of value [we] possess: freedom of mind. Which is what "life" always tries to take away from us' (Ego, viii. 696). Queen Mary College, London Kirsteen Anderson [Book i:] The Cubist Painters. By Guillaume Apollinaire. Trans. by Peter Read. [Book 2:] Apollinaire and Cubism. By Peter Read. Forest Row: Artists Bookworks . 2002. x + (Book 1) 86 pp., 45 plates; (Book 2) 152 pp. ?20. ISBN 0946311 -12-9. Guillaume Apollinaire planned to call this, his only book on art, Meditations esthetiques ?a title that captures well its intuitive and prophetic tone and reflects the fact that it was patched together from earlier articles, revised, and reordered for the oc? casion. Such was the pulling-power ofthe intense controversy surrounding Cubism, however, that it was as Les Peintres cubistes that it came out in Paris in March 1913. The change has created confusion ever since because Apollinaire's choice of artists and his definition of the driving aims of the modern movement overlap only sporadically with focused accounts of Cubism written either by contemporaries, like the 'Salon Cubist' painters Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger, or by later art historians. Thus, Apollinaire gives much more space to Seurat and the Douanier Rousseau than to Cezanne, and to Marie Laurencin than to Robert Delaunay. Other eccentricities in? clude his ill-fated attempt to separate 'the Cubists' into four tendencies, mystifyingly termed 'scientific', 'physical', 'orphic', and 'instinctive', the last being a catch-all for anyone forward-looking he could not accommodate in the other three. In short, The Cubist Painters needs an accompanying commentary if one is to understand it, let alone do justice to its many flashes of insight. In Peter Read, renowned especially for his work on Apollinaire's relationships with contemporary artists, it has found not only the ideal translator, but also the ideal interpreter. The firstfull English translation of The Cubist Painters, by Lionel Abel, was pub? lished almost sixty years ago. It is a fairbet that most English-speaking readers have long relied upon anthologized extracts and consequently do not appreciate Apolli? naire's overarching argument or the book's internal structure?both of which are far more unified than its scissors-and-paste origins might lead one to expect. This, in? deed, is one ofthe revelations of Read's sensitive and readable translation, in which the recurrence of words and metaphors signifying creativity (light and fire,in particular) is pointedly reproduced. In his commentary, which follows the divisions of the origi? nal and can therefore be read in tandem with it, he discusses Apollinaire's main ideas and sources lucidly and succinctly, drawing special attention to his deification of the 'pure' creative artist who has abandoned the age-old goal of naturalism. Throughout Picasso is Apollinaire's hero?and his alter ego. Other chapters outline the intricate story of the book's genesis and the conflicting evaluations of Apollinaire as art critic (scorned by some, defended by others). Rightly, Read insists on the daring choice of illustrations, all of which reappear here in their original sequence and size and with their original, sometimes misdated, captions. This nice sense of Apollinaire's book as an object in its own right extends to the design and layout of the text, which imitate that of the firstedition. In this thoughtful, and loving, version, the rediscovery of The Cubist Painters is a pleasure. University of Edinburgh Elizabeth Cowling ...

Wolfgang Pauli

Max Born thought that Pauli was, perhaps, an even greater scientist than Einstein. “But he was a completely different type of man,” wrote Born, “who, in my eyes, did not attain Einstein’s greatness.”

On the development of knowledge during problem solving

A person might solve a problem progressing very quickly after an initial period of very little progress, as if new insight was suddenly gained, without that person possessing anything that merits being called insight. This is demonstrated in a series of studies as an extension of the experiments of Kotovsky and Simon (1990). A total of 68 undergraduate students solved an isomorph of the Chinese Ring Puzzle. The first study showed that the verbal protocols of participants thinking aloud contained accumulating explicit knowledge. In the second study, the participants' move records were analysed in a novel way, and it was shown that the choices of moves gradually improved. In the third study the knowledge about the puzzle was tested after the puzzle was solved. The participants demonstrated that they knew, although imperfectly, which move was possible in a given situation. The fourth study showed that verbalising did not alter problem solving profoundly. Together, the four studies demonstrated that solving the puzzle took place after a gradual development of knowledge, instead of a flash of insight.

Highlights of the 1999 Institute on Psychiatric Services

Highlights of the 1999 Institute on Psychiatric Services

A FLASH of insight into cellular chemistry: genetically encoded labels for protein visualization in vivo.

Genetically encoded fluorescent labels, such as green fluorescent protein, make it possible to visualize a protein's natural distribution and environment in living cells. A new approach to protein labeling in living cells has been devised in which a small, membrane-permeable ligand binds with high affinity and specificity to a short peptide motif that can be incorporated into the protein of interest; the ligand becomes brightly fluorescent after binding to the peptide.

Regulation of gene expression and its role in long-term memory and synaptic plasticity.

Histories of science yet to be written will view the latter half of this century as the Age of Molecular Genetics. From a flash of insight that yielded the double helix (1) to the first genetic clone of a mammal (2), molecular genetics has invaded every aspect of biological research. Initially, this molecular-genetic onslaught was limited to species, such as bacteria, yeast, nematodes, and fruit flies, whose size and life cycle constituted an economy of scale that was advantageous to breeding (3). With the introduction of gene-knockout techniques to mice (4), however, molecular genetics now is storming mammals (5, 6). In the broadest sense, the recent paper by Guzowski and McGaugh (7) represents a vanguard of this invasion. By using antisense oligonucleotides as “pharmaceutical” disruptors of gene expression, they have liberated molecular genetics from breeding. Endogenous regulation of gene expression has been outflanked by exogenous control.

Cognitive Neuroscience: Working Memory Linked to Intelligence

People often think of intelligence as quickness of thought or propensity for flashes of insight. But a variety of evidence suggests that such indicators of intelligence as language comprehension and problem-solving ability may instead depend on the ability to juggle lots of possibilities in the mind—that is, on working memory.

Book Review: Flash of Insight

Book Review: Flash of Insight

The Romantic Metaphysics of Don DeLillo

tW ~ # hat is the postmodern response to the truth claims traditionally made on behalf of moments? By visionary moment, I mean that flash of insight or sudden revelation which critically raises the level of spiritual or self-awareness of fictional character. It is mode of cognition typically represented as bypassing rational thought processes and attaining higher or redemptive order of knowledge (gnosis). There are, conceivably, three types of postmodern response which merit attention here. First, in recognition of the special role literature itself has played in establishing the credibility of moments, postmodern writers might draw on the resources of metafiction to parodically lay bare the essentially literary nature of such moments. Baldly stated, the moment could be exposed as literary convention, that is, concept that owes more to the practice of organizing narratives around sudden illumination (as in, say, the narratives of Wordsworth's Prelude or Joyce's Dubliners) than to reallife experience. Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 is premised on this assumption. Pynchon's sleuthlike protagonist, Oedipa Maas, finds herself in situation in which clues-contrary to the resolution of the standard detective story-proliferate uncontrollably, thereby impeding the emergence of final enlightenment or stelliferous Meaning (82). It is situation that not only frustrates Oedipa, who is continually tantalized by the sense that a revelation . . . trembled just past the threshold of her understand

Legitimacy and History: Self-Government in American Constitutional Theory.

This provocative book is both a rich intellectual history of 200 years of American constitutional theory and a major contribution to that theory. Paul Kahn argues that self-government is impossible within the constraints placed on government by the Constitution, and that constitutional theory-which attempts to reconcile self-government and history-will never achieve its goal. do not know of another book that participates in the constitutional dialogue with the mixture of historical perspective and acute critical eye displayed in this book. It demonstrates sweep, originality, careful criticism, and flashes of insight throughout.-Steven H. Shiffrin A fascinating and richly nuanced intellectual history and critique of American constitutional theory. It contains original and important insights not only about historical developments, but also about the predicament of contemporary constitutional thought...Nowhere have I encountered a more engaging book about constitutional theory. Kahn brings a wealth of historical resources to bear, and he offers a probing analytical critique of the materials that he confronts. His description of recent works of constitutional theory is lucid, sometimes more so than the originals. He cuts to the heart of each theoretical effort and deftly exposes its primary weaknesses...What is more, he ties his book together with an original and provocative explanation of the historical progression of constitutional thought.-Daniel O. Conkle, Constitutional Commentary A rich and insightful history of constitutional theory in America.-Leslie Friedman Goldstein, Journal of Politics

A Reply to Steven Watts's "Idiocy"

STEVEN WATTS'S INTEMPERATE ARTICLE, THE IDIOCY OF AMERICAN Studies: Poststructuralism, Language, and Politics in Age of SelfFulfillment, participates in an old argument, one that has been taking place in American Studies for decades, between those who believe in centrality of literary-cultural analyses for discipline and those who believe such work is, at best, secondary, and, at worst, obfuscatory. However, it does not present a serious new perspective on very real issues that arise when practice of history confronts epistemological conundrums of literary theory. Watts's article does nothing to advance major debates it purports to engage. Although Watts is clearly in second camp, caring little for literary perspective, his article fails to contribute anything of theoretical, methodological, or intellectual significance to this ongoing debate, resorting instead to pointless name-calling and unsupported assertions of moral superiority, among other postures of academic territorial defense.' Watts insists that 'radicalism,' for all its flashes of insight and illuminating techniques, ultimately offers an agenda for academic narcissism and self-satisfaction. He then describes apparently unanimous political project of this monolithic group as based on a simplistic perception of binary opposites and an equally simplistic strategy of reversibility. Watts insists that the poststructuralist gospel could never

Scientific Creativity: A Review

Aside from possession of the relevant knowledge, skills, and intelligence, what seems to characterize the creative scientist is his imagination, originality, and ingenuity in combining existing knowledge into a new and unified scheme. This creativity frequently emerges from an aesthetic, poetic sense of freedom derived from work, an uninhibited playful activity of exploring a medium for its own sake. We speculate thus: With a preference for irregularities and disorder, the creative scientist temporarily takes leave of his senses, permitting expression of unconfigurated forces of his irrational unconscious. This amounts to a kind of internal "wagering," in which the scientist pits himself against uncertain circumstances, a situation in which his individual effort can be the deciding factor. When working on a difficult problem, there frequently occurs a "creative worrying" in which the problem is consciously and unconsciously carried around while doing other tasks. This period is attended by frustrations, tensions, and false inspirations. Dream and reality are wedded in a largely unconscious process of undefined emotional turmoil. When a uniquely gratifying association is realized, the unconscious deposits its collection of insights into the fringe consciousness, whereupon the full consciousness seizes on it and releases it as a flash of insight. Because the creative scientist possesses a strong and exacting self-concept, he can organize, integrate, and even exploit the conflict within himself. By compensating in fantasy for what is missing in reality, creativeness can be an expressive outlet ameliorating the universal, annoying split between a man's inner unconscious world and his outer conscious world. Although there is a divergence of opinion as to whether creativity can be taught, there is agreement that it can be fostered. However, parents, teachers, and institutions must display considerably more flexibility and tolerance towards individually minded persons who behave in seemingly nonconformist ways.