May’s Pick of the Month: “The Eureka Factor”

In The Eureka Factor, two of the nation’s leading cognitive neuroscientists reveal the secrets of the “Aha!” moment. They explore the mystery of sudden insight and explain how and why we have intuitive flashes and inspiration.

The great Greek scientist Archimedes shouted “Eureka!” (which means “I have found it”) as he sat in his bath and realized he could use water displacement to measure the volume of the King’s crown. And whether it’s an important discovery in the science of genetics for Nobel laureate Barbara McClintock, the melody of a Beatles ballad for Paul McCartney, or an understanding of the cause of human suffering to the Buddha, these moments of clarity are given to everyone. Sudden insights have long been a mystery to researchers, but Mark Jung-Beeman and John Kounios are conducted pioneering neuroimaging research examining brain activity at and before these moments of clarity. They can now explain how these moments happen, when we need them, and how we can have more of them to enrich our lives and empower personal and professional success. 

Accessible and compelling, “The Eureka Factor” is a fascinating look at the human brain and its seemingly infinite capacity to surprise us.

John Kounios, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at Drexel University and director of its doctoral program in Applied Cognitive and Brain Sciences. Mark Beeman, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at Northwestern University, where he studies the brain bases of creative cognition and problem solving, how mood affects attention and cognition, and how the right and left sides of the brain differ in function.

Kounios and Beeman’s research on insight has been featured in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal as well as on National Public Radio. Their work was profiled in The New Yorker and is part of an exhibit at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.

– Aaron’s Books