Friday, October 7, 2011

Licensed to Daydream?

Scientists say daydreaming is good for your brain.  See, I haven't bee wasting time.  I've been activating two vital brainage networks.  One aims the brain work toward goals, the other is more personal but can be goal-related because it's in charge of picturing yourself in the future, which is Very Important. According to an article in Discover magazine "The French mathematician Henri Poincaré once wrote about how he struggled for two weeks with a difficult mathematical proof. He set it aside to take a bus to a geology conference, and the moment he stepped on the bus, the solution came to him. It is possible that mind wandering led him to the solution." (Italics mine. I've always wanted to say that!)  Your brain does even better if you are so far gone that you are unaware of your surroundings!  Don't try this in the car, kids.  Because we are also more prone to make mistakes while in this state.  We're looking for the Aha!, not the Oops!.

Source:  The Brain.  Author:  Zimmer, Carl;  Discover; Jul/Aug2009, Vol. 30 Issue 7