"Normal" human behavior is a lot more schizophrenic than most of us are comfortable with realizing (myself included). "Flashes of genius" and other moments of great creativity are often the result of background processes in the mind communicating with the foreground processes. Elizabeth's recommendation of treating this communication as if it were with something external can be very effective in practice even though she doesn't claim to know why "the genius that lives in your wall" behaves the way it does. However, I will claim that the less mystical explanation described in the book "Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less" is more effective still. I thoroughly enjoyed the talk, but I think her goals can be even better achieved with that book's psychological insight as a foundation.
Comments
This is perhaps one of my favorite talks from TED. Fantastic stuff and 100% true - keep doing your dance, whether divine or not.
"Normal" human behavior is a lot more schizophrenic than most of us are comfortable with realizing (myself included). "Flashes of genius" and other moments of great creativity are often the result of background processes in the mind communicating with the foreground processes. Elizabeth's recommendation of treating this communication as if it were with something external can be very effective in practice even though she doesn't claim to know why "the genius that lives in your wall" behaves the way it does. However, I will claim that the less mystical explanation described in the book "Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less" is more effective still. I thoroughly enjoyed the talk, but I think her goals can be even better achieved with that book's psychological insight as a foundation.
Is there a written version of the speech somewhere?
Amazing! Absolutely amazing. Great talk.