My office used to be right by the local art museum, and I was a member. Whenever I felt stuck, I'd go take a half hour to look at art, and usually a solution would quickly come to mind.
I'm seriously intrigued by how the unconscious mind works as it relates to problem solving. Anybody here have recommendations to literature that digs into this beautiful phenomenon of taking breaks/walks resulting in the answer manifesting itself?
Barbara Oakley talks about it in a Mind for Numbers:
“I generally liked to work on my more difficult subjects, like math, in the morning, when I was fresh. I still practice this approach today. I have some of my best mental breakthroughs in the bathroom and shower—it’s when I take my mind off the subject that the diffuse mode is able to work its magic.”
