Eureka! Sabbatical and the Shower Effect

Archimedes famously had his “Eureka!” moment regarding volume displacement while lounging in the bath. Granted, the phenomenon was on display as Archimedes descended into the tub and the water rose in proportion to his submersion, but countless discoveries, solutions, and novel formulations not related to bathtime physics have occurred to folks while they soak, steam, and rinse off.

This experience is so ubiquitous that it’s been dubbed the “Shower Effect”: Having been fully focused on a problem or puzzle, we take a break—visit the water cooler, step outside for a breath of fresh air, jog around the block, sleep on it, or (you guessed it) take a shower—and are struck by creative new insight. This insight simultaneously owes to our prior focus and isn’t available to us until we break that state of focus.

Neuroscience related to the shower effect is rapidly evolving as researchers gain a better understanding of how the brain’s task-positive network and default mode network relate to one another across the brain. Happily, we don’t need a comprehensive map of the neurological dynamics in play to put the power of the shower effect into practice.

In my academic tutoring, I counsel students to read their essay prompts and problem sets as soon as they are handed out. Without meaning to, my students ruminate on these in the background until finally turning their full attention to them again (usually several days later, often with the deadline looming), at which point they are markedly more prepared to complete the tasks than they would be if looking at the material for the first time. In the same vein, when we at Learning Forte have the pleasure of designing courses and programs for LF! clients or the LF! Hub, we take care to include intervals for rumination and integration, often through spiral learning structures that invite learners to engage repeatedly with concepts at increasing levels of complexity.

Next week I’m embarking on an LF! sabbatical. I intend to spend my first day journaling about my creative and domestic sabbatical ambitions and creating a detailed schedule. I realized in mid-June that I wouldn’t have time to do that journaling and scheduling work until my sabbatical started; because I’ve had it in the back of my mind since then, I’m confident I’ll be well-positioned for clear and decisive thinking come Monday when I bring it front of mind. By the same token, I’m confident that when I return to LF! from my sabbatical I’ll be bringing fresh ideas to the strategic projects we have underway. I may even have the occasion to shout, “Eureka!”

written by Carly Lane
July 2024