THE ART OF SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION 



the connection between several things or ideas, or may take a 

 great leap forward instead of the usual short step where the 

 connections between each pair or set of ideas are well established 

 and " obvious ". These sudden, large progressions occur not 

 only when one is consciously puzzling the problem but also not 

 uncommonly when one is not thinking of anything in particular, 

 or even when one is mildly occupied with something different, 

 and in these circumstances they are often startling. Although 

 there is probably no fundamental difference between these ideas 

 and the less exciting ones that come to us almost continually, 

 and it is not possible to draw any sharp distinction, it will be 

 convenient to consider them separately in the next chapter under 

 the title " intuitions ".In this section we will draw attention to 

 some general features of productive or creative thinking. 



Dewey advocates what he calls " reflective thinking ", that is, 

 turning a subject over in the mind and giving it ordered and 

 consecutive consideration, as distinct from the free coursing of 

 ideas through the head. Perhaps the best term for the latter 

 is day-dreaming; it also has its uses, as we shall see presently. 

 But thinking may be reflective and yet be inefficient. The thinker 

 may not be sufficiently critical of ideas as they arise and may 

 be too ready to jump to a conclusion, either through impatience 

 or laziness. Dewey says many people will not tolerate a state of 

 doubt, either because they will not endure the mental discomfort 

 of it or because they regard it as evidence of inferiority. 



" To be genuinely thoughtful, we must be willing to sustain 

 and protract that state of doubt which is the stimulus to thorough 

 enquiry, so as not to accept an idea or make a positive assertion 

 of a belief, until justifying reasons have been found."^^ 



Probably the main characteristic of the trained thinker is that 

 he does not jump to conclusions on insufficient evidence as the 

 untrained man is inclined to do. 



It is not possible deliberately to create ideas or to control their 

 creation. When a difficulty stimulates the mind, suggested 

 solutions just automatically spring into the consciousness. The 

 variety and quaUty of the suggestions are functions of how well 

 prepared our mind is by past experience and education pertinent 

 to the particular problem. What we can do deliberately is to 

 prepare our minds in this way, voluntarily direct our thoughts 



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