--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We tend to think of imagination and…" description: "\"“We tend to think of imagination and foresight like we are prone to think of life (sometimes) -- as an inscrutable flash of something from the outside ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b0/m-15603_blank-mind_we-tend-to-think-of-imagination-and-fore_2413482.jpg" --- # We tend to think of imagination and foresight like we are… ![“We tend to think of imagination and foresight like we are prone to think of life (sometimes) -- as an inscrutable flash of something from the outside that magically takes us over some large boundary in one atomic step. We even call it a flash (of insight), a eureka moment, a light bulb in our…” quote by M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b0/m-15603_blank-mind_we-tend-to-think-of-imagination-and-fore_2413482.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b0/m-15603_blank-mind_we-tend-to-think-of-imagination-and-fore_2413482.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b0/m-15603_blank-mind_we-tend-to-think-of-imagination-and-fore_2413482.jpg) > ““We tend to think of imagination and foresight like we are prone to think of life (sometimes) -- as an inscrutable flash of something from the outside that magically takes us over some large boundary in one atomic step. We even call it a flash (of insight), a eureka moment, a light bulb in our heads that suddenly turns on. But if you reflect on this phenomenon for a moment, you know you don't go suddenly from a blank mind to a fully formed solution. You were already thinking about the problem, and other near solutions that don't work, when suddenly you see a new connection that enables you to reuse familiar things on a novel way. Insight comes in small increments, leveraging what was already there.”” [M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Insight emerges gradually by recombining existing ideas rather than appearing instantly. **In simple terms:** Ideas build on what you already know. Key Takeaway Look for small connections. Themes creativity problem solving learning Mood curious reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - research - design - writing - programming - teaching Key Concepts incremental insight cognitive restructuring Questions to Reflect On - How can you structure practice to foster incremental insight? - What habits help you notice subtle connections? A Different Perspective May overlook the role of preparation and hard work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blank mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-mind/) [Eureka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eureka/) [Eureka-moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eureka-moments-57863/) [Foresight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foresight/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagination Foresight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-foresight-6084126/) [Insight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insight/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Light bulb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-bulb/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-imagination-713383/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Eureka!"s like the one Archimedes had when he stepped in a bathtub and suddenly realized the answer to the problem of testing metals' density…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-willis/eureka-s-like-the-one-archimedes-had-when-he-stepped-in-a-bathtub-and/) [Connie Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-willis/) > [The view is endlessly fulfilling. It is like the answer to a lifetime of questions and vague cravings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-view-is-endlessly-fulfilling-it-is-like-the-answer-to-a-lifetime/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“In the folklore of science, there is the often-told story of the moment of discovery: the quickening of the pulse, the spectral luminosity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/in-the-folklore-of-science-there-is-the-often-told-story-of-the/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [“Step off assuredly into the blank of your own mind. Something will come to you. Although at first You nod through nothing like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wilbur/step-off-assuredly-into-the-blank-of-your-own-mind-something-will/) [Richard Wilbur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wilbur/) > [The void is a mouth crying to be filled, a blank mind aching for thought, a cavity desperate for shape. What is not implies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/the-void-is-a-mouth-crying-to-be-filled-a-blank-mind-aching-for/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [“I respond, thoughts dropping away, like pebbles plopping one by one in water, sinking down, down into dark oblivion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-jordan/i-respond-thoughts-dropping-away-like-pebbles-plopping-one-by-one-in/) [Sophie Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-jordan/) > [Every morning like a scholar at his first class I prepare a blank mind for the day to write upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/every-morning-like-a-scholar-at-his-first-class-i-prepare-a-blank/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [She didn't care anymore... and she got no pleasure from the work she did, but she did it. Everything bored her. She found that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-fitzhugh/she-didn-t-care-anymore-and-she-got-no-pleasure-from-the-work-she-did/) [Louise Fitzhugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-fitzhugh/) > [The tourist travels in his own atmosphere like a snail in his shell and stands, as it were, on his own perambulating doorstep to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-tourist-travels-in-his-own-atmosphere-like-a-snail-in-his-shell/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The world is unforgiveing it knows no such thing as mercy, To a blind eye no happiness shall be found but with light shead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nasty-nate/the-world-is-unforgiveing-it-knows-no-such-thing-as-mercy-to-a-blind/) [Nasty Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nasty-nate/) > [“Ever been in a spelling bee as a kid? That snowy second after the announcement of the word as you sift your brain to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/ever-been-in-a-spelling-bee-as-a-kid-that-snowy-second-after-the/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [Step off assuredly into the blank of your mind. Something will come to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wilbur/step-off-assuredly-into-the-blank-of-your-mind-something-will-come-to/) [Richard Wilbur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wilbur/) > [“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world. You are surrounded by adventure. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/to-awaken-quite-alone-in-a-strange-town-is-one-of-the-pleasantest/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [You have to stay fresh and blank in your mind when you go out to bat. You complicate things, and you're gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virat-kohli/you-have-to-stay-fresh-and-blank-in-your-mind-when-you-go-out-to-bat/) [Virat Kohli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virat-kohli/) > [“Sitting to think of what to write will only set your ass on fire, give you headache, twist your face to look stupid, instead,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/sitting-to-think-of-what-to-write-will-only-set-your-ass-on-fire-give/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) ## More by M > [Have you noticed that when peole go to grocery stires theyll tell the check out chick their life problems but when they get told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/have-you-noticed-that-when-peole-go-to-grocery-stires-theyll-tell-the/) [M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) > [We keep following this road. This road called life...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/we-keep-following-this-road-this-road-called-life/) [M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) > [“life is not as easy as you think it is”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/life-is-not-as-easy-as-you-think-it-is/) [M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) > [Happiness is temporary, pain is eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/happiness-is-temporary-pain-is-eternal/) [M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) > [“We're allowed to go on living happy, healthy lives because tens of thousands of animals like this chimp sacrifice their lives. But all people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/we-re-allowed-to-go-on-living-happy-healthy-lives-because-tens-of/) [M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) > [“Tomorrow is another day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/tomorrow-is-another-day/) [m](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) > [“Oh gosh. I mean, I love Saxon. Yes I do. \*slaps forehead\* \*runs fingers despairingly through hair\*”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/oh-gosh-i-mean-i-love-saxon-yes-i-do-slaps-forehead-runs-fingers/) [M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) > [“I’m sorry we mistook emotional manipulation for love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/i-m-sorry-we-mistook-emotional-manipulation-for-love/) [M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) > [“Lies, Betrayal, and Infidelity are like having a million red ants on you. It starts off with a sting and ends with bites that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/lies-betrayal-and-infidelity-are-like-having-a-million-red-ants-on/) [M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) > [“Our once simple, unified meaning of life is being shattered into many, sometimes competing, concepts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/our-once-simple-unified-meaning-of-life-is-being-shattered-into-many/) [M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) > [“Scars are just memories that skin holds so dear it got them tattooed beneath the surface.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/scars-are-just-memories-that-skin-holds-so-dear-it-got-them-tattooed/) [M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) > [A good book is either a friend or a teacher. The bad one is the boss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/a-good-book-is-either-a-friend-or-a-teacher-the-bad-one-is-the-boss/) [M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) > [“If you carry out this plan, I will kill you. You will be-" L took a step forward- "executed!" Then he handed the woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/if-you-carry-out-this-plan-i-will-kill-you-you-will-be-l-took-a-step/) [M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) > [I only speak one language. Language of love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/i-only-speak-one-language-language-of-love/) [M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) > [“We are always seeking it, never finding it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/we-are-always-seeking-it-never-finding-it/) [M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) [Explore all 40 M quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m/) ## More Blank mind quotes > [“Sitting to think of what to write will only set your ass on fire, give you headache, twist your face to look stupid, instead,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/sitting-to-think-of-what-to-write-will-only-set-your-ass-on-fire-give/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [You have to stay fresh and blank in your mind when you go out to bat. You complicate things, and you're gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virat-kohli/you-have-to-stay-fresh-and-blank-in-your-mind-when-you-go-out-to-bat/) [Virat Kohli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virat-kohli/) > [“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world. You are surrounded by adventure. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/to-awaken-quite-alone-in-a-strange-town-is-one-of-the-pleasantest/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Step off assuredly into the blank of your mind. Something will come to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wilbur/step-off-assuredly-into-the-blank-of-your-mind-something-will-come-to/) [Richard Wilbur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wilbur/) > [“Ever been in a spelling bee as a kid? That snowy second after the announcement of the word as you sift your brain to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/ever-been-in-a-spelling-bee-as-a-kid-that-snowy-second-after-the/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [The world is unforgiveing it knows no such thing as mercy, To a blind eye no happiness shall be found but with light shead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nasty-nate/the-world-is-unforgiveing-it-knows-no-such-thing-as-mercy-to-a-blind/) [Nasty Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nasty-nate/) > [The tourist travels in his own atmosphere like a snail in his shell and stands, as it were, on his own perambulating doorstep to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-tourist-travels-in-his-own-atmosphere-like-a-snail-in-his-shell/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [She didn't care anymore... and she got no pleasure from the work she did, but she did it. Everything bored her. She found that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-fitzhugh/she-didn-t-care-anymore-and-she-got-no-pleasure-from-the-work-she-did/) [Louise Fitzhugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-fitzhugh/) > [Every morning like a scholar at his first class I prepare a blank mind for the day to write upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/every-morning-like-a-scholar-at-his-first-class-i-prepare-a-blank/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [“I respond, thoughts dropping away, like pebbles plopping one by one in water, sinking down, down into dark oblivion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-jordan/i-respond-thoughts-dropping-away-like-pebbles-plopping-one-by-one-in/) [Sophie Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-jordan/) > [The void is a mouth crying to be filled, a blank mind aching for thought, a cavity desperate for shape. What is not implies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/the-void-is-a-mouth-crying-to-be-filled-a-blank-mind-aching-for/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [“Step off assuredly into the blank of your own mind. Something will come to you. Although at first You nod through nothing like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wilbur/step-off-assuredly-into-the-blank-of-your-own-mind-something-will/) [Richard Wilbur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wilbur/) > [“I never think of nothing. The closest I come to a blank mind is when I am counting, fucking, or drinking. The rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-hart/i-never-think-of-nothing-the-closest-i-come-to-a-blank-mind-is-when-i/) [Megan Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-hart/) > [You must squeeze out of yourself every sensation, every thought, every image, - mercilessly, without reserve and without remorse: you must search the darkest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/you-must-squeeze-out-of-yourself-every-sensation-every-thought-every/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [The difficulty is, all swing thoughts decay, like radium. What burnt up the course on Wednesday has turned to lead on Sunday. Yet it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-difficulty-is-all-swing-thoughts-decay-like-radium-what-burnt-up/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Browse all 22 Blank mind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-mind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We tend to think of imagination and foresight like we are prone to think of life (sometimes) -- as an inscrutable flash of something from the outside that magically takes us over some large boundary in one atomic step. We even call it a flash (of insight), a eureka moment, a light bulb in our heads that suddenly turns on. But if you reflect on this phenomenon for a moment, you know you don't go suddenly from a blank mind to a fully formed solution. You were already thinking about the problem, and other near solutions that don't work, when suddenly you see a new connection that enables you to reuse familiar things on a novel way. 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