IMAGINATION 



tendency to repeat it again and again. This phenomenon is known 

 as the persistent error. The same thing happens when we ponder 

 over a problem; each time our thoughts take a certain course, 

 the more hkely is that course to be followed the next time. Asso- 

 ciations form between the ideas in the chain of thoughts and 

 become firmer each time they are used, until finally the connec- 

 tions are so well established that the chain is very difficult to 

 break. Thinking becomes conditioned just as conditioned reflexes 

 are formed. We may have enough data to arrive at a solution to 

 the problem, but, once we have adopted an unprofitable line of 

 thought, the oftener we pursue it, the harder it is for us to 

 adopt the profitable line. As Nicolle says, " The longer you are in 

 the presence of a difficulty, the less likely you are to solve it." 



Thinking also becomes conditioned by learning from others 

 by word of mouth or by reading. In the first chapter we discussed 

 the adverse eflfect on originality of uncritical reading. Indeed, 

 all learning is conditioning of the mind. Here, however, we are 

 concerned with the eflfects of conditioning which are unprofitable 

 for our immediate purpose, that of promoting original thought. 

 This does not only concern learning or being conditioned to 

 incorrect opinions for, as we have seen in the first chapter, read- 

 ing, even the reading of what is true so far as it goes, may 

 have an adverse effect on originality. 



The two main ways of freeing our thinking from conditioning 

 are temporary abandonment and discussion. If we abandon a 

 problem for a few days or weeks and then return to it the old 

 thought associations are partly forgotten or less strong and often 

 we can then see it in a fresh light, and new ideas arise. The 

 beneficial eflfect of temporary abandonment is well shown by 

 laying aside for a few weeks a paper one has written. On coming 

 back to it, flaws are apparent that escaped attention before, 

 and fresh pertinent remarks may spring into the mind. 



Discussion is a valuable aid in breaking away from sterile 

 lines of thought that have become fixed. In explaining a prob- 

 lem to another person, and especially to someone not familiar 

 with that field of science, it is necessary to clarify and amplify 

 aspects of it that have been taken for granted and the familiar 

 chain of thought cannot be followed. Not infrequently it happens 

 that while one is making the explanation, a new thought occurs 



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