This is Hidden Brain. I'm Shankar Vedantam.

Across centuries, artists and writers have tried to make sense of the mysterious force

that brings ideas to life.

The ancient Greeks imagine the muse as a literal spirit, a whispering goddess who breathed

inspiration into the poet's ear.

Renaissance painters courted her through ritual and prayer, while romantic poets look for her in storms, mountain peaks, and moonlit walks.

Now, psychological research is discovering that what the ancients call divine inspiration

is really the brain at play. When we are relaxed, taking a shower, folding laundry,

staring out a window, our minds slip into a pattern of spontaneous association. Neurons fire across disparate brain regions

linking old memories with half-formed ideas.

Then, suddenly, an insight bubbles up.

It feels like a gift from the heavens,

but it's really the product of our own unconscious minds.

This week on Hidden Brain,

and in a companion story on Hidden Brain Plus,

the origins of creativity and how to find the muse within. When we think about how creative work unfolds, we usually imagine it happening in moments of

intense focus, a painter standing before his canvas, a scientist peering into her microscope.

But research shows that many of our most original ideas do not appear when we are concentrating

hard.

They arrive when our minds wander, when we are driving, showering, or staring into space.

Op Dykester House is a psychologist who recently retired from Ratbout University

Namagin in the Netherlands.

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