The Swiffer Reading Passage
The Swiffer Reading Passage
Paragraph A
Writer Jonah Lehrer recommends examining the history of the Swiffer cleaning product for an interesting story about creativity. In the narrative of the Swiffer, he says, we see the essential ingredients for generating breakthrough ideas: irritation, moments of clarity, and sheer effort. The narrative begins with a global corporation that produced tools for keeping houses pristine but could not come up with new ways to clean floors. As a result, the firm employed designers to observe how people cleaned.
Paragraph B
After several weeks of study, they saw a woman using a paper towel to do what everyone else does: wipe something clean and dispose of it. As conceived by chief designer Harry West, the remedy to their difficulty was a floor mop with something like a disposable wiping surface. After years of effort and mountains of prototypes, they introduced the Swiffer, which became an instant commercial hit.
Paragraph C
Lehrer the writer of Imagine, a new book that aims to explain how creativity functions, explains that this study of the imagination began with a desire to comprehend what occurs in the brain at the instant of unexpected revelation. But the book spun out of control, according to Lehrer. When you speak with creative individuals, they will talk about the "eureka" moment, but if you press them, they will also talk about the subsequent hard work, so I realised I wanted to write about it as well. Then I realised I could not examine creativity just from the standpoint of the brain since it is also dependent on culture and environment, the group, the team, and how we cooperate.
Paragraph D
Lehrer asserts that current neuroscience has offered a 'rough draft' explanation of what is occurring in the brain with regard to the enigmatic process by which inspiration appears seemingly out of nowhere. He describes how, in 1965, the exhausted American musician Bob Dylan intended to abandon his musical career and flee to a cabin in the woods, only to be overtaken by the urge to write. Evidently, he wrote "Like a Rolling Stone" all of a sudden. Dylan allegedly stated that it's as if a ghost is crafting a song. It delivers you the song and then disappears. Lehrer asserts that it is not a ghost.
Paragraph E
Instead, the right part of the brain is connecting historical influences to create something wholly original. By imaging the brains of people who solve word puzzles by making sense of distantly connected information, neuroscientists have roughly mapped this process. For instance, subjects are asked to think of a single word that can come before or come after each of three words, such as "age," "mile," and "sand," to create a compound word.
Paragraph F
(It just so happens to be stone) The anterior superior temporal gyrus, a small tissue fold, is suddenly illuminated just before people appear to have the answer in an evident flash of insight, according to research using brain imaging equipment. When the word puzzle is correctly decoded through careful analysis, this remains silent. According to Lehrer, this region of the brain only becomes active after we have reached a dead end with a problem. Then, in order to create the connections that result in the correct response, the brain begins searching through the "filing cabinets of the right hemisphere."
Paragraph G
Studies have shown that it is possible to anticipate an epiphanic moment up to eight seconds in advance. The alpha waves, which are strongly correlated with relaxing activities, are the predictive signal, and they are produced by the right hemisphere of the brain. According to Lehrer, when our minds are relaxed, and our brains are producing alpha waves, we are more likely to focus our attention on the stream of distant associations coming from the right hemisphere. In contrast, our attention tends to be drawn to the specifics of the issues we are attempting to solve when we are diligently focused.
Paragraph H
Consequently, we are less likely to form those crucial associations. Therefore, taking a walk or taking a nap are crucial stages of the creative process, and astute businesses are aware of this. Some companies now encourage employees to take breaks during the workday and engage in activities that may seem unproductive (like playing video games on a computer), but daydreaming has been found to be positively correlated with problem-solving. Lehrer notes that in order to be more creative, it's also important to work with people from a variety of backgrounds because creativity is stifled when coworkers are too socially close.
Paragraph I
It seems that serendipity is essential to creativity. American businessman Steve Jobs held this view. Lehrer explains how Jobs planned Pixar Animation's entire workplace to increase the likelihood of strangers running into one another, striking up conversations, and sharing knowledge. He also cites research on 766 business graduates who later founded their own businesses. People who had the most acquaintances were much more successful. Lehrer claims to have considered all of this and, in spite of his natural shyness, makes an effort to strike up conversations with strangers when they are seated next to him on a plane or at a conference.
Paragraph J
In contrast to predictions that the growth of the Internet would render the need for shared workspace obsolete, according to Lehrer, research demonstrates that when people have conversations in person, creativity is increased. This is why the environment in which we live has a significant impact on innovation. Theoretical physicist Geoffrey West claims that as corporate institutions grow larger, they frequently become less open to change. However, cities foster the growth of our inventiveness by bringing a diverse range of people together to share ideas. It may be convenient to work from home, but it seems that our best "eureka" moments require interaction with other people.
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