What do you think about when you're not thinking about anything else?

October 17, 2007 at 2:16 PM

I heard a story recently about a man who was the son of a famous scientist. The son was enrolled in a science program in a university. One day he asked his father a question about a mathematical problem. The father answered that hadn't we just discussed this problem a week ago. The son replied that they had. The father's question was "isn't this what you think about when you're not thinking about anything else?" The son, chagrined, said that it wasn't. His father then admonished him to choose another career. He said "you won't be competitive. Everyone in your field is thinking about these things all the time." He went into business and had a successful career as a business educator and university administrator.

I am reading a book about Bach. His son CPE Bach said that he was instantly thinking about all the possibilities for a tune upon the instant he heard it.

I visited my sister and her family last week and she took me to a very fine restaurant. She had ordered a dish that was new on the menu that day and enjoyed it very much. When the chef came to the table we asked him how he created new recipes. He said that they often occured to him while he was resting in bed and thinking about food. He obviously thinks about recipes and cooking when he is otherwise not occupied.

What do you think about when you're not doing anything else?

From Tom Holzman
Posted on October 17, 2007 at 4:16 PM

I don't think you would want to know.

From Yixi Zhang
Posted on October 17, 2007 at 9:43 PM

If you can tell me what you mean by "anything else", then I'll be able to tell you what I'm thnking about at this particular moment:)

From Stephen Brivati
Posted on October 18, 2007 at 12:41 AM

Greetings,
its an interesting point. I recall both Mutter and Mullova saying that a porocesisng takes place continuously indpeendent of the isntrument. I think this is so profounf in high level artsist it constitutes practice because the effetc on the neurology is stronger than in less talented people. Its why I find discussion about how many hours the greats practice veyr misleading.
Cheers,
Buri

From Yixi Zhang
Posted on October 18, 2007 at 5:37 AM

Seriously, there are a lot of different ways we call thinking. Some type of thinking the self is highly aware of this activity itself and knows exactly what one is thinking, for instance, when one is intensely analyzing something, is engaging in writing or is engaging a philosophical debate. Other type of thinking is more ‘tacit’, that is the mind keeps working on something when your body is engaging in something else entirely different. This type of thinking is extremely important in exploring something with extraordinary depth and with the difficulties that is beyond normal daily life.

When I was working on some very difficult philosophical problems, for instance, hours and days of readings, discussion and active contemplating would not be enough efforts to bring me an insightful solution. The best solutions often came to me after hours of working in the garden or a very long walk. Of course they wouldn’t come to me had I not be thinking really hard at for some time – they don’t come from nowhere. People often say manual work or physical exercise is good for thinking, but if you are not already being thinking and focusing on anything particular, no amount of physical work will bring you interest solution of thoughts.

What I believe is that to get into certain depth in a field that requires a lot of thinking, you need pretty much breath in it all the time. One’s active thinking can only extend certain hours in one stretch, so a lot of thinking is done without the thinker even noticing it. It’s when something suddenly dawned on you, you then realize that you were actually thinking about it, even though you may or may not call it thinking.

It is a really fascinating subject

From Mendy Smith
Posted on October 18, 2007 at 6:26 AM

In my sleep I dream about database structures, data flows, impedance calculations, musical phrases, chords, pitches, waveforms, etc... Somehow it all comes together in my professional life and personal musical life.

From Emily Grossman
Posted on October 18, 2007 at 9:47 AM

If by writing this you are claiming us to be blessed by our obsession, well, I don't know.

I don't know.

Now let me go to sleep for a change, and put away these thoughts that plague me day and night.

From John Allison
Posted on October 18, 2007 at 4:49 PM

If you were to ask my wife, she would say I'm not thinking about anything. However, I find myself thinking about music structure, fingerings of music that I hear.

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on October 19, 2007 at 4:46 AM

I have experiences similar to Yixi's. I often resolve my problems not by thinking about them, but by going for a walk. I think there's a pulley system between my legs and some crucial, overlooked part of my brain. The other time I get insights is when I'm just waking up. Starting with a clean slate, I suppose.

From Bart Meijer
Posted on October 20, 2007 at 11:14 AM

I remember once playing a piece in my head, and one tone in it was out of tune! So I went "why is this out of tune" and found that I should perhaps play it in second instead of first position. I did that, still in my head, and it was better.
Later, on my violin, second position made it much easier to play that note in tune.

From Penny B
Posted on October 21, 2007 at 7:48 AM

Max Picard often, or I am thinking about a network problem.

This entry has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.

What do you think about when you're not thinking about anything else?

Subscribe

Laurie's Books