The hapless hero is completely at a loss. With no idea where to turn, he finally turns away from the problem to do something mindless. Then BANG! There it is! The answer comes to him in a flash.

We credit the phrase “Eureka” meaning “I have found it!” to Archimedes, an ancient Greek scientist, and mathematician who supposedly came up with his brilliant Principle (named after himself) in the bath.

In truth, those lightning bolt inspirations are more the result of a lot of hard work already put into the problem. The ‘A-ha!’ tends to come more out of making the connections through subconscious thought processes.

So, the next time you need an Archimedes moment, first start with a lot of research. Then let the information gel for a while. It’s when your mind relaxes into the data and starts processing it that ideas start springing forth.