disorganizing

I'm writing from the train, on route to NYC for a meeting where I'm expected to present creative programming ideas in response to input I'll gather a few hours before the meeting and from data I'll interpret on the spot.

I sometimes think of my job title as the "human synthesizer". I just take it all in, sniff the air, and spit it out in an orderly fashion. The ideas are all there...they just need to be encouraged to organize.

What differentiates me from a computer? Apparently neuroscience can't yet definitively tell us. But there is a theory of self-organization that I'm learning about in The Creative Mind.

The author postulates that during the creative process the brain begins by disorganizing, making links that have not been previously linked. "Out of this disorganization, self-organization eventually emerges and takes over the brain." (Pg 78)

So maybe I'll take a nap at the lunch table and give my brain some time to disorganize...and just hope it all gets pieced back together in time! (See the Jan 15 entry for an example of my bad luck with rushed deadlines and putting the pieces together.)