THE ART OF SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION 



an entertainment and when I am writing. The enjoyment of 

 music is rather similar, emotionally, to the enjoyment derived 

 from creative mental activity, and suitable music induces the right 

 mood for productive thought. 



Elsewhere mention has been made of the tremendous emotional 

 stimulus many people get when they either make a new discovery 

 or get a brilliant intuition. Possibly this emotional reaction is 

 related to the amount of emotional and mental effort that has 

 been invested, as it were, in the problem. Also there is the sudden 

 release from all the frustrations that have been associated with 

 work on the problem. In this connection it is interesting to note 

 the revealing statement of Claude Bernard : 



" Those who do not know the torment of the unknown cannot 

 have the joy of discovery." 



Emotional sensitivity is perhaps a valuable attribute for a scien- 

 tist to possess. In any event the great scientist must be regarded 

 as a creative artist and it is quite false to think of the scientist 

 as a man who merely follows rules of logic and experiment. 

 Some of the masters of the art of research have displayed 

 artistic talents in other directions. Einstein was a keen musician 

 and so was Planck. Pasteur and Bernard early showed consfder- 

 able promise in painting and play-writing, respectively. Nicolle 

 comments on the interesting and curious fact that the ancient 

 Peruvian language had a single word (hamavec) for both poet 

 and inventor. ^^ 



Technique of seeking and capturing intuitions 



It may be useful to recapitulate and set out systematically the 

 conditions which most people find conducive to intuition. 



(a) The most important prerequisite is prolonged contemplation 

 of the problem and the data until the mind is saturated with it. 

 There must be a great interest in it and desire for its solution. The 

 mind must work consciously on the problem for days in order 

 to get the subconscious mind working on it. Naturally the more 

 relevant data the mind has to work on, the better are the chances 

 of reaching a conclusion. 



(b) An important condition is freedom from other problems 

 or interests competing for attention, especially worry over private 

 affairs. 



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