Test tubes, white coats, microscopes… Many of the objects associated with science conjure up the image of a world that is analytical and logical, with scientists following an orderly process to collect and examine data and draw conclusions. However, this clichéd perception leaves out a crucial scientific ingredient that emerges from the grooves of a scientist’s mind: creativity.
Creative thinking is most commonly associated with the arts and is undervalued in science. In today’s fast-paced research environment, success is increasingly measured in quantity rather than quality: the quantity of data and the number of articles, grants, citations, etc. The call to produce more and more work does not always lead to a highly creative environment. However, prioritizing creativity can, in itself, lead to tangible advances. Many of the most famous scientific discoveries would never have happened without him.
Einstein’s theory of relativity emerged through a series of thought experiments in which he pushed the limits of new ways of considering time and space. The discovery itself was born out of creative thinking, specifically a type that was coined as “Janusian thinking” by Albert Rothenberg, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School who studies the creative process. The theory describes the creative psychological process in which someone actively and intentionally conceives opposing ideas at the same time (1). Later in life, Einstein praised the importance of thinking creatively in science. In 1931 he wrote: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, while imagination encompasses the entire world, stimulating progress, giving rise to evolution. It is, strictly speaking, a real factor in scientific research” (2).
The invention of the stethoscope offers another example of the rewards of creativity. In 1816, the doctor Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laënnec had the idea of rolling up a sheet of paper and placing it in a patient’s heart. He got the idea by recalling a game he recently observed, in which children sent sounds to each other through a long wooden tube (3).
Today, promoting creativity in the laboratory may require reducing stress and workload. A recent survey found that 70% of scientists feel stressed on a typical work day (4). Unfortunately, studies show that stress can decrease creative thinking processes, such as cognitive flexibility (5). However, scientists may not need to set aside hours of free time to encourage creative thinking. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have shown that working on a non-demanding task and letting the mind wander can lead to more creative solutions when someone returns to the original task (6). Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania showed a similar effect after participants procrastinated a task by watching funny videos (7).
These results may be related to an incubation period of the creative thinking process, where the brain can process the task subconsciously (8). Therefore, taking a break or allowing the mind to wander during a task can lead to a scientific breakthrough.
References
- Rothenberg, A. Einstein, Bohr and creative thinking in science. History Science 25147–166 (1987).
- Einstein, A. & Shaw, GB Einstein on cosmic religion and other opinions and aphorisms. (Dover Publications, 2012).
- Roguin, A. Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laënnec (1781–1826): The man behind the stethoscope. Medical clinic 4230–235 (2006).
- Understanding research culture: what… | Welcome to open search. at the
- Vartanian, O., Saint, S. A., Herz, N. & Suedfeld, P. The creative brain under stress: considerations for performance in extreme environments. Frontiers in Psychology 11(2020).
- Baird, B. and others. Inspired by distraction: Mind wandering facilitates creative incubation. Psychological Sciences 231117–1122 (2012).
- Shin, J. & Grant, AM When putting off work pays off: The curvilinear relationship between procrastination and creativity. AMJ 64772–798 (2021).
- Ritter, SM & Dijksterhuis, A. Creativity – the unconscious foundations of the incubation period. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 8(2014).
