After observing a similar habit among highly creative people (Einstein, Mozart, da Vinci, etc), the neuroscientist Dr. Nancy Andreasen designed a brain-imaging study to understand the neural basis of this habit. Essentially, these creative people all carved out time each day for... “Free-floating periods of thought,” Andreasen writes in her book, “The Creating Brain: The Neuroscience of Genius.” The mechanics of the habit differed from person to person. Leonardo da Vinci, for example, would often sit in front of a painting “and simply think, sometimes for as long as a half day.” Whereas Einstein had a wooden boat he called the “Tinef” (Yiddish for “piece of junk”) on which he liked to aimlessly drift wherever he could find a body of water. He had to be rescued by boaters or the Coast Guard so frequently that a friend eventually bought him an outboard motor for emergency use, but Einstein refused it. “To the average person, being becalmed for hours might be a terrible trial,” the friend said. “To Einstein, this could simply provide more time to think.” In any case, Dr. Andreasen conducted the first study of brain activity during these “free-floating periods of thought,” when the body is in a “resting state” and the mind is free of inputs, and therefore, free to wander. “We found activations in multiple regions of the association cortex,” Dr. Andreasen wrote. “We were not [seeing] a passive silent brain during the ‘resting state,’ but rather a brain that was actively connecting thoughts and experiences.” Essentially, Dr. Andreasen found that the brain defaults to creativity. When the body is still and the mind is allowed to float freely, the brain engages in what she termed REST (“random episodic silent thinking”). And during REST, Dr. Andreasen writes, the brain “uses its most human and complex parts...areas known to gather information and link it all together—in potentially novel ways.” So whether it's sitting in front of painting in your office or on a piece of wood out at sea, if you want to be more creative, carve out time each day for “free-floating periods of thought.” - - - “Men of genius are sometimes producing most when they seem least to labor, for their minds are then occupied in the shaping of those conceptions to which they afterward give form.” — Leonardo da Vinci Follow @bpoppenheimer for more content like this!

I am looking to connect with acting/movement/voice practitioners with higher education experience (or wanting that!) and directors who have experience with drama school shows in Scotland! particularly in Edinburgh and Glasgow but anyone willing to travel :) Thank you! RETWEET!

We open in a week! Please come and support my first adventure on the fringe and as a writer. YIKES! ‘𝗧𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗔 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲’ by Samantha Robinson @_ar_productions 📷 5th—25th August 2023 📷 Edinburgh Festival Fringe 📷 bit.ly/3LTkHe1

#QuickFlyer Friday 👋 Did you know that on average, twenty people a minute across the globe are displaced from their homes? We’ve written a play about it, debuting this #EdFringe 🎟️ bit.ly/3LTkHe1 🗓️ 5th-25th August 📍@theSpaceUK #TwentyPeopleAMinute

What a wonderful celebration of all things #Pride tonight amongst our talented Page2Stage family. As always we are indebted to our panellists @jdizzlestewart @jamesleyplay and @NellyKellyWrite

A book is good company as you say! And it definitely has been these first 3 days out of drama school. Now I have to wait for the next, and final, chapter of this story I've followed since my early teens. What do I do in the meantime???!

Link to tickets: thetheatrestore.com/show/the…

Happy midsummer !!

Caucasian Chalk Circle opens in two days! And if you haven't got your tickets yet, let these pics whet your appetite for what promises to be a great performance from our graduating BA (Hons) Acting students! Final tickets available loom.ly/nmIA5Y8 📸 Ryan Buchanan

We've have spaces for day tickets for #PSFNT Fest @traversetheatre on the 25th and/or 25th June for young people! All for free: - A workshop - Show tickets - Dinner - Bus Fares If you're a young person or work with young people email: lisa@wonderfools.org Please RT.

What’s that? You need more theatre on your life? Come and watch me as Prince Kezbeki & lavarenti in The Caucasian Chalk Circle in my final college performance before graduating with a BA! Get booking and I’ll see you there 😉 thetheatrestore.com/show/the…

Check out the amazing singer @xelliemoran The man him self Simon Chachava @WilliamR_Actor The women who does it all and the amazing puppeteers @susannaronkko & @lisapilerud

Ok. Final, final, final call. Jekyll and Hyde dir. by @beckyhopepalmer, asst dir. by @kierabell21 Last 2 shows available today, best thing to do with your Saturday. Phenomenal performances from @susannaronkko @JayGar97 @lisapilerud and @xelliemoran Ticket link below

How amazing do our acting students look in these #JekyllandHyde photos?!😍 There's still time to get your tickets for this brilliant show directed by @beckyhopepalmer Thurs 4th May @ 7.30pm Fri 5th May @ 7.30pm Sat 6th May @ 2.30pm & 7.30pm 🎫👉 themgaacademy.com/?p=13055

Right, this is your absolute last call to come see some fantastic theatre, Jekyll & Hyde by Evan Placey dir. by @beckyhopepalmer , asst dir. by @kierabell21 and starring a plethora of talented performers. Get your tickets here if you dare: thetheatrestore.com/show/jek…

you probably have no idea what this animal is this is the vaquita, the smallest porpoise and also the most endangered there are only 12 remaining in the whole world, and the fact that no one talks about them makes me so sad. we need to raise awareness and save these creatures!

What? You’re free between the 4-6th May to watch not only me as Detective Renford but also, @lisapilerud as Jekyll, @xelliemoran as Hyde, @WilliamR_Actor as a charming policeman? Amazing! See you there 😉 thetheatrestore.com/show/jek… 🕵🏻🎭

#HowNotToDrown at the @traversetheatre tonight was absolutely incredible. Truly moving and never boring. Huge round of 👏👏 to all involved @ThickSkinTweets