Saturday, December 25, 2021

Did Thomas Edison improve the nap?

 The Scientific American recently had an article on Thomas Edison’s “napping technique,” a way the inventor harnessed his creative powers.

Edison thought sleep was a waste of time. When he rested, he held a ball in each hand. If he drifted off, the balls would drop, waking him.

The Scientific American was reporting on a new study, inspired by Edison, that suggests there’s something to the notion that we have heightened powers just before we drift off.

I’m interested in neuroscience. If it’s possible to get to that metaphorical place of heightened creativity, I’d like to know the details.

But the whole idea made me want to start a group lobbying for the preservation of the traditional nap.

Maybe I’m just a contrarian.

• Source: Bret Stetka, “Spark Creativity with Thomas Edison’s Napping Technique”; Scientific American, Dec. 9, 2021.

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