Cookies help us display personalized product recommendations and ensure you have great shopping experience.

By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    data analytics and truck accident claims
    How Data Analytics Reduces Truck Accidents and Speeds Up Claims
    7 Min Read
    predictive analytics for interior designers
    Interior Designers Boost Profits with Predictive Analytics
    8 Min Read
    image fx (67)
    Improving LinkedIn Ad Strategies with Data Analytics
    9 Min Read
    big data and remote work
    Data Helps Speech-Language Pathologists Deliver Better Results
    6 Min Read
    data driven insights
    How Data-Driven Insights Are Addressing Gaps in Patient Communication and Equity
    8 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Insight and Serendipity
Share
Notification
Font ResizerAa
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > Uncategorized > Insight and Serendipity
Uncategorized

Insight and Serendipity

Editor SDC
Editor SDC
3 Min Read
SHARE

At a meeting in December, a friend recently handed out The Eureka Hunt, from the New Yorker magazine’s issue of July 28, 2008. The annals of science have now extended to an understanding of how insight occurs. It turns out that the brain activity associated with insights comes from the right hemisphere which, as that hemisphere has long been associated with creativity, makes sense. But there’s a very interesting network insight as well: “Cell…


At a meeting in December, a friend recently handed out The Eureka Hunt, from the New Yorker magazine’s issue of July 28, 2008. The annals of science have now extended to an understanding of how insight occurs. It turns out that the brain activity associated with insights comes from the right hemisphere which, as that hemisphere has long been associated with creativity, makes sense. But there’s a very interesting network insight as well: “Cells in the right hemisphere are collecting information from a larger area of cortical space. They are less precise but better connected.” (Emphasis mine.) Simply, the cells have longer branches and access to a larger network of associations.

It gets more intriguing when we consider that when we are trying to solve a problem, we start with a focus that is controlled by the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which wants to focus, get away from distractions, and look closely at the problem. Fortunately, this cortext is not just the largest part of the brain, it is also connected to all the other parts. The hub, if you will, of a network of networks. In order for the right hemisphere to be allowed to do its thing — to work its way through its branches and network of associations — the prefrontal cortex has to relax and give up control to the right hemisphere. Then, and perhaps only then, are we available for insight.

I’ve used the phrase “planned serendipity” to refer to the intentional practice of using Dopplr (though I use Twitter much more now) to let people know my travels and to see the travels of others just in case we engineer an encounter that might or might not happen otherwise. Seeking insight means we have to let go of the seeking, stop thinking so hard and just let the network do its work, just as in our lives we sometimes need to look beyond our frontal cortex of close friends, colleagues, and relationships to remember that we have a myraid of looser connections and weak ties that we may allow to come to light.

More Read

Networks and Heterarchies
The Challenge of Making ERP Systems More Configurable
Expressor pre-announces a data loading benchmark leapfrog
Being Smart About Public Wi-Fi Networks
Google Wave or just a Blip?
Share This Article
Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn
Share

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

data analytics and truck accident claims
How Data Analytics Reduces Truck Accidents and Speeds Up Claims
Analytics Big Data Exclusive
predictive analytics for interior designers
Interior Designers Boost Profits with Predictive Analytics
Analytics Exclusive Predictive Analytics
big data and cybercrime
Stopping Lateral Movement in a Data-Heavy, Edge-First World
Big Data Exclusive
AI and data mining
What the Rise of AI Web Scrapers Means for Data Teams
Artificial Intelligence Big Data Exclusive

Stay Connected

1.2kFollowersLike
33.7kFollowersFollow
222FollowersPin

You Might also Like

Inbox Filtering

4 Min Read

In-Memory Analytic Databases Are so Last Century

16 Min Read

The Future of Global IT: Its like the Kobayashi Maru

3 Min Read

New York Diner

3 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

AI and chatbots
Chatbots and SEO: How Can Chatbots Improve Your SEO Ranking?
Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Exclusive
ai in ecommerce
Artificial Intelligence for eCommerce: A Closer Look
Artificial Intelligence

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?