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The Nature of Creative Thought - Part 6

Many of the common characteristics of so-called "artistic creativeness" may be observed among scientists. The basic vari­ations all seem to stem from differences in individual personalities Or from differences in major interests. For example, a member of Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study, who was privileged to work with both Albert Einstein and his fellow mathematician, John Von Neumann, compared them this way: "Einstein's mind was slow and contemplative. He would think about something for years. Johnny's mind was just the opposite. It was lightning quick—stunningly fast. If you gave him a problem, he either solved it right away or not at all. If he had to think about it a long time and it bored him, his interest would begin to wander. And Johnny's mind would not shine unless whatever he was working on had his undivided attention." And yet both men made tre­mendous accomplishments in the field of mathematics.

Princeton's Institute is, of course, a wonderful place to observe the "scientific mind" at work. Its prime purpose is to give great minds a place, time, and the atmosphere in which to think.

In discussing differences between the ways scientists work, Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, Director of the Institute, said, "Physics is a more gossipy field. When a problem gets hot, everyone talks about it." This is so, reports another observer, because many of the great minds frequently get stuck, even as you and I. They work by fits and starts, by sweat, by torment, and by that beauti­ful phenomenon called inspiration. They may spend many long hours and days working at a problem and getting nowhere. Then, one day at dinner, or while mowing the lawn, "Suddenly some­thing occurs to you and there it is—beautiful, simple, elegant."

Another of the Princeton scientists said, "You try to let your mind wander looking for correlations between elusive points. Suddenly, while you're walking, or chopping wood, something clicks. Things fall in place. Then you start scribbling, trying to put something down on paper in mathematical form, working out definitions and good statements of theorems and proofs. The thrill lies in the discovery of the unknown and how it fits in. It's almost as though you have discovered a new animal and how it grows and how it relates to its environment."

And through all the analyzing of scientific minds runs the intense striving for comprehension—the seeking for truth. So intense is this drive that it can probably be said that a scientist who would rather refute than comprehend has demonstrated that he has chosen the wrong calling.

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