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Aha!: The Moments of Insight that Shape Our World
Great ideas often develop gradually after studying a problem at length--but not always. Sometimes, an insight hits like a bolt from the blue. For Archimedes, clarity struck while he was taking a bath. For Gustav Mahler, it came as the blades of his oars touched the water. And for Albert Einstein, it emerged while he was talking to a friend. Why do these moments of insight strike so suddenly? Why do they so often come to us when we are focused on something completely unrelated? And when great ideas "come to" us, where do they come from?
In Aha!: The Moments of Insight that Shape Our World , philosopher William B. Irvine, author of A Guide to the Good Life and On Desire , explores these epiphanies, from the minor insights that strike us all daily, to the major realizations that alter the course of history. Focusing on aha moments as they take place in five different domains--religion, morality, science, math, and art--Irvine provides case studies that shed light on the different ways epiphanies happen in the different domains, and on their differing social impact. Along the way, he describes some of the great aha moments in history, from ancient times to the present day.
We like to think that our greatest thoughts are the product of our conscious mind. Irvine demonstrates, though, that it is our unconscious mind that is the source of our most significant insights, and that the role the conscious mind plays in eliciting these insights is to try, unsuccessfully, to solve certain problems. Only if the conscious mind is willing to do this--and thereby experience considerable frustration--is the unconscious mind likely to reward it with a breakthrough insight-that the conscious mind will then take credit for.
Irvine explores not only the neuroscience of aha moments but also their personal and social ramifications. How does a person respond to having a breakthrough insight that goes against a dominant paradigm? And how does the world respond when she shares that insight? Irvine shows that in many cases, what is most remarkable about those who have had the great insights of human history is not their but their courage and perseverance in fighting for the world to accept those insights.
Aha! is a must-read for cognitive scientists, intellectual historians, philosophers, and anyone who has ever been blown away by the ideas that enlighten us when we least expect it.
In Aha!: The Moments of Insight that Shape Our World , philosopher William B. Irvine, author of A Guide to the Good Life and On Desire , explores these epiphanies, from the minor insights that strike us all daily, to the major realizations that alter the course of history. Focusing on aha moments as they take place in five different domains--religion, morality, science, math, and art--Irvine provides case studies that shed light on the different ways epiphanies happen in the different domains, and on their differing social impact. Along the way, he describes some of the great aha moments in history, from ancient times to the present day.
We like to think that our greatest thoughts are the product of our conscious mind. Irvine demonstrates, though, that it is our unconscious mind that is the source of our most significant insights, and that the role the conscious mind plays in eliciting these insights is to try, unsuccessfully, to solve certain problems. Only if the conscious mind is willing to do this--and thereby experience considerable frustration--is the unconscious mind likely to reward it with a breakthrough insight-that the conscious mind will then take credit for.
Irvine explores not only the neuroscience of aha moments but also their personal and social ramifications. How does a person respond to having a breakthrough insight that goes against a dominant paradigm? And how does the world respond when she shares that insight? Irvine shows that in many cases, what is most remarkable about those who have had the great insights of human history is not their but their courage and perseverance in fighting for the world to accept those insights.
Aha! is a must-read for cognitive scientists, intellectual historians, philosophers, and anyone who has ever been blown away by the ideas that enlighten us when we least expect it.
376 pages, Hardcover
First published October 27, 2014
31 people are currently reading
374 people want to read
About the author
William B. Irvine
24 books786 followersWilliam B Irvine is professor of philosophy at Wright State University. The author of seven books, including A Guide to the Good Life, he has also written for the Huffington Post, Salon, Time, and the BBC. He lives in Dayton, Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 7, 2017
More like 3.5. Not very well organized, however an easy and insightful read. Irvine discusses not just the aha moments themselves but cognitive functions that support these moments as well as societal setbacks that may hinder progress at times. Irvine promotes hard work as the foundation and discusses the importance of an open mind in conjunction with appropriate training which I appreciated.
December 27, 2017
This book gives examples of ‘eureka’ moments in the sciences and the arts.
I found this book interesting on places, but too long. The creative process is basically a shed load of hard work and a bit of imagination.
I found this book interesting on places, but too long. The creative process is basically a shed load of hard work and a bit of imagination.
December 16, 2020
Bill Irvine continues to impress me as on of my favorite writers of non-fiction; whether it’s philosophy, Stoicism, science, etc. This book takes an exhaustive approach to understanding the complexities of profound moments of insight and discovery in the fields of morality, mathematics, science, and even religion. As is the case with life, there’s often so much more than meets the eye and Bill is one of the best at laying out various perspectives and angles from which to understand the issues. I highly recommend his books.
July 27, 2017
I was intrigued by this book, hoping there would be some interesting information about the neuroscience of aha moments.
Although there was a bit of that, nothing much was substantial enough in helping to understand the process. The 5 categories also helped a little, but were more like interesting anecdotes of how aha moments work in different fields.
I found the religion one very vague in any scientific way, so skipped most of it. There were some interesting tidbits, like the ideas of preparation incubation, illumination and verification. These don't work in all realms, but made some sense to me.
Other than that, not much of substance was here.
Although there was a bit of that, nothing much was substantial enough in helping to understand the process. The 5 categories also helped a little, but were more like interesting anecdotes of how aha moments work in different fields.
I found the religion one very vague in any scientific way, so skipped most of it. There were some interesting tidbits, like the ideas of preparation incubation, illumination and verification. These don't work in all realms, but made some sense to me.
Other than that, not much of substance was here.
April 3, 2019
Good examples of Aha moments that have shaped our world and experiences.
October 12, 2023
It is a very illuminating and entertaining read.
July 14, 2024
Hmmmm. Some interesting points but it got very preachy about being vegetarian.
July 5, 2020
Interesting but it seemed a bit unorganized at times.
February 25, 2020
"Aha! The Moments of Insight That Shape Our World" is a great blend of tales of eccentric and uber-interesting real life events, and the author's hypothesis about the origin, evolution, and appearance of Aha moments! I was initially skeptical about the author's decision to categorize Aha moments into their prevalence in five fields - religion, morality, Science, Mathematics, and art, but after reading the individual sub-sections, I was completely in unison about the same! It just made total sense to split the Aha moments that way, and then analyze them separately, for they have many threads in common.
Author has done a lot of research and put ample effort in collecting various interesting stories, from art to Mathematics to morality. Except for the story of Andrew Wiles' quest about proving Fermat's Last Theorem,pretty much all others were new to me! The stories of struggle of Lynn Margul, Kerouac's tryst with benzedrine while writing On the Road, Stan Ulam's spirals, Rota's unique bibliography that included people who were never part of the book, the duel of Math prodigy Evarista Galois, Gerald Guralnik's unpublished version of Higgs-Boson, Penzias and Wilson's success in supporting the CMB claims, etc were all jus fascinating to read.
Although the author does not conclusively offer any proof or argument to support his hypotheses from a neurological basis, the hypotheses themselves are very intriguing and worth pondering over. Overall, this was an intellectually stimulating read that was also teeming with trivia.
Author has done a lot of research and put ample effort in collecting various interesting stories, from art to Mathematics to morality. Except for the story of Andrew Wiles' quest about proving Fermat's Last Theorem,pretty much all others were new to me! The stories of struggle of Lynn Margul, Kerouac's tryst with benzedrine while writing On the Road, Stan Ulam's spirals, Rota's unique bibliography that included people who were never part of the book, the duel of Math prodigy Evarista Galois, Gerald Guralnik's unpublished version of Higgs-Boson, Penzias and Wilson's success in supporting the CMB claims, etc were all jus fascinating to read.
Although the author does not conclusively offer any proof or argument to support his hypotheses from a neurological basis, the hypotheses themselves are very intriguing and worth pondering over. Overall, this was an intellectually stimulating read that was also teeming with trivia.
May 26, 2015
Irvine presents many well known biographical vignets and tells historical and hypothetical stories to illustrate points. Most of the book's value evaporates to the degree that the reader already knows these anecdotes.
Mistake of taking written subjective reports of aha moments as literal truth, even though they have practical objectives which the truth would occlude. Some of these are just fraud, and should only be used in that context. Specifically, the historical persons of Joseph Smith and Saul of Tarsus said things for personal gain, which were later edited and interpreted specifically for the utility of their church institutions. That's all. The actual details of their aha reports are void of meaning.
Well explains the psychology and physiology of why various aha moments are ordinary and not meaningful, but that these mundane events can have socially significant interpretations.
Confuses morality as socialized reflexive aversion, while personal morality is about principles, ethics and justice. Read any of Michael Sandel's books about ethics for much more lucid and usable though experiments.
Doesn't help any reader have more valuable aha moments, or to support genuine ones in others better. Something beyond: preparation, intubation, illumination, verification. The world still hungers for that book.
June 14, 2015
Dr. Irvine does a remarkable job of showing how aha! moments are a source of delight. He discusses 5 types of aha! moments: moral, religious, mathematics, science and the arts. He shares their similarities and their differences, in addition to their respective challenges. For example, a science aha! moment, once shared, is always open for scrutiny by the very nature of science in that it continually evolves. Whereas mathematics aha! moments are followed by people who try to continually prove and re-prove the presumed discovery. The subconscious mind is the workhorse of an aha! moment but it will only enlighten after the conscious mind has experienced frustration, patience, and sometimes quite a bit of time - rather like "sleeping on a problem." Moral and religious aha! moments differ from the others in that they are may arise from cognitive dissonance and may not require incubation.
I now have an appreciation for our history of great thinkers and their revelations and challenges.
I now have an appreciation for our history of great thinkers and their revelations and challenges.
January 20, 2016
This title explores these epiphanies, from the minor insights that strike us all daily, to the major realizations that alter the course of history. Focusing on aha moments as they take place in five different domains - religion, morality, science, math, and art - Irvine provides case studies that shed light on the different ways epiphanies happen in the different domains, and on their differing social impact. Along the way, he describes some of the great aha moments in history, from ancient times to the present day.
June 8, 2015
Tons of examples.
September 27, 2015
Meh. Concepts interesting. Writing not so much.
November 18, 2015
Li apenas os 2 primeiros capitulos em que ele fala de a-has relacionados com religiao e moral, momentos de inspiracao subitos. Achei muito longos, repetitivos e sem nenhuma informacao nova .
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews