January 11, 2017

Scott Adams's approach to his mind sounds like Marie Kondo's approach to her house.

Here's Scott Adams tidying up his brain:
For me, creativity is a process by which I rapidly FORGET the thought that is currently in my head so a new one will fill the space. Your brain isn’t good at thinking of nothing, so when you eject your current thought, another rushes in to take its place. If you flush-and-replace enough thoughts in a row, you have experienced creativity. And if any of those new thoughts made your body respond with a laugh, a sigh, or chills, or anything else physical – you might have created art. I think of creativity as a system of cycling through ideas until one of them “moves” me, literally. If an idea doesn’t create some sort of physical change in my body, I rapidly reject it and move to the next thought.
Here's Marie Kondo, explaining "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing"
I had been so focused on what to discard, on attacking the unwanted obstacles around me, that I had forgotten to cherish the things that I loved, the things I wanted to keep. Through this experience, I came to the conclusion that the best way to choose what to keep and what to throw away is to take each item in one’s hand and ask: “Does this spark joy?” If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it. This is not only the simplest but also the most accurate yardstick by which to judge.... Keep only those things that speak to your heart.

16 comments:

traditionalguy said...

Adams seems to affirm the value of inspiration of his mind by inspired spirits. He must be a Bob Dylan fan too.

I suppose you could say that Rex Tillerson is an inspired choice as Secretary of State.

David said...

"If an idea doesn’t create some sort of physical change in my body, I rapidly reject it and move to the next thought."

True, but also a potential path to ruin for men where women are involved.

buwaya said...

Kondo's approach doesnt work. She is doing something else, she just thinks something sparks joy especially.
Or possibly there isnt much that sparks joy, for her.
I collect cameras and photogrsphic gadgets. I have far too many and my wife has made me put most in boxes in the garage. When I open one of these, one of my toy boxes, everything in it "sparks joy".

The Vault Dweller said...

Does this mean that Adam's muse is himself? Also does this mean that he will go blind soon, or whatever the Greek tragedies require in this situation?

Ann Althouse said...

creates some sort of physical change in my body ≈ sparks joy

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I collect cameras and photogrsphic gadgets. I have far too many and my wife has made me put most in boxes in the garage. When I open one of these, one of my toy boxes, everything in it "sparks joy".

We have collections also. Mostly Art Deco and Art Nouveau art pottery and sculptures. I also like to collect crystal glassware, stemware, decanters that we use. Family heirlooms as well. My husband collects vintage metal toy cars and trucks. However, we have much to much to have on display all at once, so we too, put much in boxes and periodically rotate the items from storage to display.

Part of the fun of collecting is the hunt and discovery. Each item has a history and memories of our experiences. SO when we bring out a new box.....the items also "spark joy". Sometimes I will have forgotten about an item and it is almost like a brand new discovery!

Because we can't keep everything either...we will periodically put items on Ebay and let someone else have the "joy".

Christy said...

FWIW, Kondo was the answer in Jeopardy last week.

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jupiter said...

This strikes me as simply bizarre. My perpetual effort is to get one additional aspect of the problem into my mind, without driving out any of the other pieces I already crammed in there. From time to time, I *will* have one of those joy-sparking epiphanies. But it often turns out to be an idea I had months ago, and then forgot all about.

I suppose it depends on the kind of problems you hope to solve.

gadfly said...

So I am to believe that people can consciously forget something on purpose?

The first thing that should happen, if this is true, will be the disappearance of the word "grief" from the languages of the world.

But in Scott Adams case, he will be able to walk away from all the incorrect thoughts he has put forward about Donald Trump during the election. Trump's failures will be plentiful over the next four years.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Trump's failures will be plentiful over the next four years.


If that were true you would relax about him. Your monomania tends to show that you fear he will be great.

Danno said...

Bad Lieutenant, isn't there a bug spray that works for gadfly?

Mark Caplan said...

Interesting that what gives the man (Scott Adams) joy are ideas; the woman, physical objects.

Jupiter said...

gadfly said...

"Trump's failures will be plentiful over the next four years."

Eight.

Static Ping said...

My brain works similarly to Scott Adams's, at least sometimes. Things will go in, then if I don't do something with it the thought flits away. Occasionally, I will remember that I forgot something that I thought was neat. It does not always come back to me. If I'm in the creative mood, I have to start writing down notes or lose chunks of it.

Note that "creative" and "good" are not the same thing. Sometimes the brainstorm brings hail or, on occasion, downpours of cow flop. That said, even bad ideas sometimes lead to good ones.

PianoLessons said...

Loved this post and comments.

Scott Adams is kind of a ninja in my humble.