An AHA MOMENT, per the New York Times Crossword, is a [Flash of inspiration], an [Epiphany] or just [When you get it]. It’s the moment when a Spelling Bee pangram materializes, or when a Connections category suddenly makes itself known. A Pips board that seemed impossible is suddenly obvious, and you swear the puzzle must have changed somehow. It’s hard to know why our brains arrive at solutions so abruptly, experiencing what’s known in cognitive-science circles as the “eureka!” effect (after the apocryphal tale of Archimedes in the bathtub). Researchers have succeeded only in mapping the erratic movements that precede “eureka!” rather than accounting for the suddenness of the moment itself, but they recognize that, at some point, familiar loops of thought give way to novel connections. Studies have also examined the aftereffects, and it’s good news for people who don’t like poring endlessly over tricky puzzles: Apparently, solutions arrived at through “aha!” moments are easier to remember than those achieved by deliberate problem-solving. In other words, the less you force it, the better your retention. That doesn’t mean we should pare down our puzzle habits — as observed in a New Yorker piece on the subject of “eureka!” moments, “A person can’t discover the theory of general relativity in a dream if he isn’t a physicist who’s done some heavy thinking about the subject beforehand” — but it’s interesting to consider that our minds don’t give up just because we do. There’s also good news in the “aha!” arena for the wordplay-loving set. A pair of scientists from Northwestern and Drexel Universities who set out to research the eureka effect discovered that moments of sudden realization activate the same lobe of the brain we use to appreciate humor and metaphor. The research consisted of giving participants “Compound Random Association Problems” — and I have yet to stumble upon any critics referring to said research as a load of C.R.A.P., which is promising for science, albeit disappointing for my humor lobe. One of the great tragedies about the increasing use of A.I. to provide answers to life’s puzzles, both mathematical and abstract, is that we’re opting to outsource our epiphanies. When we defer to machinery for solutions, we’re missing out on the statistically proven benefits of discovering it ourselves, in our dreams or in our tubs. I don’t know about you, but I’ll always prefer an “aha!” to an “oh.” In that spirit, I’d love to hear any recollections of “aha!” moments from puzzles past, and where they happened. Send your story my way at crosswordeditors@nytimes.com.
Solve the Midi
Note: An earlier version of this edition of Gameplay did not include a link to today’s Midi. Cryptogram |
