Archimedes (c. 287 BC - c. 212 BC) obviously had a wondering mind, but it was his wandering mind, while he was taking a bath, that allowed him to discover a way to calculate density and volume. It was for him an "aha" moment. Those kinds of moments that pop into one's wandering minds are the subject of an article in today's Wall Street Journal, by Robert Lee Hotz. In his tribute to the payoff of daydreaming, Hotz cites similar "aha" moments that led to great epiphanies by four other prominent men of their times.
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) was not working late in his laboratory when he came upon his greatest discovery: the law of universal gravitation. He was relaxing in an apple orchard.
Rene Descartes (1596-1650) was lying in bed watching flies when he realized he could describe a fly's position by what is now known as coordinate geometry.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was not laboring late at night in his laboratory when he was struck with the idea of special relativity; he was, according to legend, relaxing while imagining trains and lightning.
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was not up all night struggling in his electrical shop when he came upon his theory of alternating current. He was taking a walk, and used his walking stick to illustrate his idea.
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There is an important lesson in all this. People who are always chasing their tails, trying to get too much done too quickly, seldom accomplish great things. There is, sadly, one among us who needs to learn that lesson:
It's time for him to take a break and stop trying to fix things that are not broken, but the chance of that happening does not seem likely. We can at least hope for no more change - or would that be too audacious?
