Today’s Quote

“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” -Albert Einstein

It’s easy to brush off Einstein and attribute this quote to a level of humility he carried, but there is scientific backing in this idea. “Incubation Effect” is a psychological term that shows taking time and even breaks while tackling a problem increases your ability to solve it. Einstein would often step away from his work to sail, play the violin, or simply take a walk.

Letting a problem sit is an uncomfortable thing for most people. There are two lines of thinking in today’s world. One, we want a quick fix here and now and if it can’t be answered like a third grade flash card then we should drop the problem altogether. Two, we need to run this problem into the ground and not stop working on it till we have brute forced a solution. Turns out neither produces great yield.

The reason for the Incubation Effect’s success is multi-faceted. One major driver is our emotions. A difficult problem evokes a range of feelings, typically negative. Becoming overly frustrated or upset drives us to quit or throw out rationality. The other benefit of incubating a problem is your mind doesn’t actually let go of the problem. When you step away from your half assembled Ikea furniture your brain will continue to unconsciously chip away at your troubles.

The breakthrough you’re looking for is on the other side of staying with the problem a little longer.