ADVENTure #17
By Chris Dunmire | Posted 3/10/24 | Updated 8/6/24
In Graham Wallas' four stages of creativity, the Incubation stage follows the Preparation stage and represents a period of unconscious processing and idea generation.
During the Incubation stage:
The Incubation stage often leads to moments of insight or "aha" moments when ideas emerge seemingly out of nowhere. This occurs because the subconscious mind continues to work on the problem, even when the individual is not consciously thinking about it.
The break from active problem-solving allows the brain to make novel connections and generate creative ideas, which can then be explored and evaluated during the Illumination and Verification stages.
Dr. Lucas D. Shallua, President of Mount Eagle College and University, has a thoughtful take on the unfolding of dreams, likening it to the egg-hatching process of an eagle.1 I like the parallels his "dreams" have with Wallas' steps of the creative process.
He says, "Every dream, like an eagle's egg, has three phases;
What do you think?
Wallas' Incubation step is the "percolating" stage where collected information is milled over to allow ideas to filter and bubble forth.
A helpful visual for how this works is the coffee percolator. Coffee percolators are stove-top pots used to brew coffee through a continual cycle of boiling the water through the grounds until the desired brew is reached.
Yes, you can watch the pot boil as the coffee cooks, seeing the liquid continually cycle through the grounds filter as it gets darker (stronger) with each round (see diagram).2
Likewise, in the creative process, Wallas notes that after the research stage of collecting information and data has occurred, allowing a few cycles of "percolation" to brew allows ideas to filter or bubble forth.
Similar words to incubate:
Can you think of any others?
Incubating Ideas
Your challenge: Now that you've done research into your new, low-carb cookie recipe, see what happens when you sit for a bit and allow ideas to incubate.
Remember, incubation, like the process of allowing a baby chick in an egg to grow and hatch, is a hands-off process that happens naturally without forcing.
Allow this process to take its course for a bit — now's a great time for a coffee break! We'll regroup after a few more ADVENTures to see what kind of ideas might brew for you.
Next Step: Step 3: Illumination
References:
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