Why, after I鈥檝e spent hours attempting to remember somebody鈥檚 name or something similar, does the answer eventually arrive in the middle of the night when I鈥檓 not even trying?
鈥� It has been suggested that when someone has this kind of sudden insight (an 鈥渁ha!鈥� moment), one鈥檚 mind has taken unconscious 鈥減athways鈥� that have led to the solution of the problem 鈥� whether it鈥檚 your cousin鈥檚 boyfriend鈥檚 name or 5-down in the crossword you attempted yesterday.
It seems that the first time you were trying to remember that name, however, your mind activated the wrong pathway. That misdirected activation might have been stronger than the answer-related activation, masking the latter, even though you knew the answer. Only when the former subsides can the solution-related activation surpass the threshold of consciousness and be perceived. It might happen when you鈥檙e not expecting it, like just before sleeping. More information on these processes can be found in a Psyconomic Bulletin and Review article published in 2003 ().
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Dilza Campos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
鈥� Just because the conscious mind is not focused on recalling a name, does not mean the brain is not churning away at the problem, even during sleep. Indeed, as a designer I have learned to trust this non-conscious, problem-solving process. Upon retiring, I will often select some difficult unsolved design dilemma from a current project and 鈥渁ssign鈥� it to myself. When I awake in the morning, almost invariably, I will discover that I have worked out a solution.
鈥淭he conscious mind may not be focused on the problem, but the brain is still churning away鈥�
Many older people 鈥� myself among them 鈥� whose memories may be increasingly cluttered and whose recall mechanisms may be slower, discover that, precisely by not trying to recall a name or term but merely waiting or continuing with another thought or activity, the sought-after memory comes to them of its own accord.
Larry Constantine, Department of Mathematics and Engineering, University of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal