（当我们常常因没有解决问题的创意或灵感而烦恼不已的时候，我们很少思考什么时候才能产生它们。本文告诉我们一个道理，生活中许多看似平淡无奇的习以为常，恰恰是灵感迸发的土壤。也许，“山重水复疑无路，柳暗花明又一村”，或者“踏破铁鞋无觅处，得来全不费工夫”，才是创造力的契机——笔者注）
若你曾在淋浴后、或遛狗归来时，脑海中突然浮现一个巧思，或纠结已久的问题豁然开朗——这或许并非偶然。
近15年的研究表明，与其持续耗神苦思或苦苦追寻灵感乍现，不如做些无需多虑的习惯性任务——即处于“自动巡航”状态的活动，人们反而更容易获得创造性突破或洞察。这样的状态让思绪漫游，进入自发认知或“意识流”思考。专家认为，这有助于唤醒非常规记忆并催生新想法。
“当人们意外发现自己竟在非刻意时刻获得新奇有趣的想法时，总会感到惊讶，因为我们的文化叙事总强调灵感源于刻苦努力，”温哥华英属哥伦比亚大学的认知神经科学家卡丽娜·克利斯托夫说，“而这其实是人类共通的体验。”
克利斯托夫指出，如今我们逐渐开始理解，为何巧思常出现在更被动的活动中，以及大脑此时正在发生什么。根据最新研究，关键在于一种被称为“默认模式网络”的大脑活动模式——它会在个体休息或进行无需专注的习惯性任务时被激活。
研究表明，默认模式网络连接大脑十多个区域，在思绪漫游或执行被动任务期间，其活跃度会高于专注做事时。宾夕法尼亚州立大学认知神经科学家、创造力实验室主任罗杰·贝蒂解释道，简言之，默认模式网络是“当你未主动投入时大脑回归的状态”。相比之下，当你深陷高要求任务时，大脑的执行控制系统会使思维保持专注、分析与逻辑状态。
但需注意：贝蒂提醒，尽管默认模式网络在创造过程中至关重要，“它并非唯一的重点网络。当涉及修改、筛选或落实想法时，其他神经网络也会参与。”因此，盲目相信淋浴中或任何走神时刻产生的念头，并非明智之举。
附：英文原文
If you’ve ever emerged from the shower or returned from walking your dog with a clever idea or a solution to a problem you’d been struggling with,it may not be an unusual thing.
Rather than constantly wearing yourself out at a problem or desperately seeking a flash of inspiration,research from the last 15 years suggests that people may be more likely to have creative breakthroughs or insights when they’re doing a habitual task that doesn’t require much thought — an activity in which you’re basically on autopilot.This lets your mind wander or engage in spontaneous cognition or “stream of consciousness” thinking,which experts believe helps recollect unusual memories and generate new ideas.
“People always get surprised when they realize they get interesting,novel ideas at unexpected times because our cultural narrative tells us we should do it through hard work,” says Kalina Christoff,a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.“It’s a pretty universal human experience.”
Now we’re beginning to understand why these clever thoughts occur during more passive activities and what’s happening in the brain,says Christoff.The key,according to the latest research,is a pattern of brain activity — within what’s called the default mode network — that occurs while an individual is resting or performing habitual tasks that don’t require much attention.
Researchers have shown that the default mode network (DMN) — which connects more than a dozen regions of the brain — becomes more active during mind-wandering or passive tasks than when you’re doing something that demands focus.Simply put,the DMN is “the state the brain returns to when you’re not actively engaged,” explains Roger Beaty,a cognitive neuroscientist and director of the Cognitive Neuroscience of Creativity Lab at Penn State University.By contrast,when you’re trapped in a demanding task,the brain’s executive control systems keep your thinking focused,analytical,and logical.
A cautionary note:While the default mode network plays a key role in the creative process,“it’s not the only important network,”Beaty says.“Other networks come into play as far as modifying,rejecting,or implementing ideas.” So it’s unwise to place blind faith in ideas that are generated in the shower or during any other period of mind wandering.
