The Segway and Archimedes

Where people get ideas and why.

Apr 09, 2025

Just to make clear: Yesterday’s newsletter about starting a fax-on-demand service in the year 2025 was a jokey way to start the article.

Apparently a pretty lame joke, but not serious! Obviously, I didn't make that clear enough, and I'm sorry!

To be clear now: No faxes! I don't even have a fax machine. I haven't seen one for many, many years! Bill Murphy Jr.'s sense of humor strikes again!

Shower thoughts

As we move into Low Power Mode for a few days, let’s talk about “shower thoughts.” Also known as the “shower effect,” this is the idea that people sometimes seem to come up with their most creative ideas and most insightful solutions while literally taking a shower.

I’ll include some fun examples later in this newsletter. But for now, let’s just note that “shower thoughts” are such a common phenomenon that entire books have been written about them and Reddit subreddits devoted to them.

They also prompt two interesting questions:

Why do people come up with great ideas in the shower, as opposed to so many more likely places?
How else can you inspire that kind of creative, problem-solving brain activity?

I mean: I like a good shower as much as the next person, but maybe sometimes you don’t actually want to have to get naked, soap up, rinse off, and dry just to access that part of your mind.

Good news. Writing in the peer-reviewed journal, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, researchers at the University of Virginia and the University of Minnesota say they set out to determine why certain apparently “mindless” tasks like showering can spark innovative thoughts.

In the end, they found that “mindless” is a matter of degree, and that by calibrating background tasks to just the right amount of “mindlessness” (or lack thereof), it might well be possible to inspire yourself to come up with creative ideas and solutions.

As co-author and assistant professor Zac Irving of the University of Virginia explained:

“Say you’re stuck on a problem. What do you do? Probably not something mind-numbingly boring like watching paint dry.
Instead, you do something to occupy yourself, like going for a walk, gardening, or taking a shower. All these activities are moderately engaging.”

Building on previous research, Irving and colleagues including University of Minnesota psychology professor Caitlin Mills theorized that constructive “mind-wandering” inspired creativity, but the degree of inspiration differed based on whether activities required zero mental effort or attention, or mild to moderate levels of attention.

As an experiment, Irving, Mills, et al. asked students at the University of New Hampshire to watch one of two videos, and then to brainstorm different uses for either a brick or a paperclip.

The first group of students watched an intentionally boring and “mindless” video of two men who were folding laundry.
The second group watched another video, but one that was a lot more engaging: specifically, the classic “I’ll have what she’s having” scene from the 1989 movie Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal movie, When Harry Met Sally. You know the one.

Afterward, the diner-scene video watchers came up with much more creative uses for the objects—and also reported that their minds wandered with less effort—than the laundry-folding video watchers.

So, where does this leave you, if you’ve got a specific challenge or dilemma that you need to solve, and want to try to inspire the most creative part of your brain to find some solutions?

The answer seems to lie in thinking hard about the problem, and then setting it aside in favor of something that hits that sweet spot of engaged but mindless activity.

A few suggestions:

Doing household chores like cleaning up, mowing the lawn, shoveling snow, or other activities that require attention but not great creative effort.
Watching engaging television shows or movies, or else listening to music or reading—but again, with a focus on engaging but not necessarily challenging material.
Walking, biking, or driving, and allowing your mind to wander as you proceed—while keeping attention on where you’re going, for safety’s sake. (In fact, this last example—walking down a city street—will form the basis for the next chapter of research, Irving said, since it’s such a common and realistic human activity.)

Does it work? Well, as promised, here are a few of those world’s greatest shower thoughts to spark your own ideas:

Dean Kamen, who came up with the idea of “dynamic stabilization,” which led to the Segway, after he slipped in the shower.
Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, who claimed to shower as many as eight times a day in order to spark ideas while battling writer’s block.
Archimedes, the ancient Greek mathematician who supposedly figured out how to determine the volume of unusually shaped objects while sitting in a bathtub. (Legend has it that he was so excited that he ran to the streets naked shouting “Eureka!”)

So get wet. Or don’t, it’s your prerogative. But if it helps you get more creative, maybe it’s worth a try.

7 other things worth knowing today

I bought a new iPhone 16 Pro on a whim yesterday (I was long overdue to replace my banged-up old phone.). In 100% related news, the United States said on Tuesday that 104% duties on imports from China will take effect shortly after midnight, even as the Trump administration moved to quickly start talks with other trading partners targeted by President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff plan. (Reuters)
How serious is the Trump administration about deportations? A government request for proposals shows a $45 billion suggested budget private contractors who can build immigrant detention facilities. By comparison, ICE's current annual budget is just $10 billion, and the entire Federal Bureau of Prisons budget is a bit over $8 billion. (The Washington Examiner)
A federal judge appointed by Trump in 2017 has ruled that White House has to allow the Associated Press to take part in presidential pool coverage. The White House banned the AP after the organization refused to use the term “Gulf of America” in its coverage after the president renamed the Gulf of Mexico upon taking office Jan. 20. (NY Post)
Wild and quirky story: Over 175 years ago, a U.S. town was "left behind" in Canada, when the Oregon Treaty established the 49th parallel as the border between Canada and the United States, which left Point Roberts, Washington cut off from the rest of the U.S. Here’s what it’s like to live there now. (CNN)
It's been a long, long time that there's been bad blood between Elton John and Madonna. But after more than two decades, the pair have patched things up. Madonna, 66, revealed in an Instagram post Monday that she and John "finally buried the hatchet" over the weekend after she confronted him backstage at Saturday Night Live. "Forgiveness is a powerful tool," she wrote. "Within minutes we were hugging." (USA Today)
Has it felt especially windy to you so far this spring? The weather has in fact been exceptional. Data shows it has been the windiest start to spring in nearly 50 years — or since 1977 — according to wind anemometers (the term for a device that measures wind speed and direction) and other atmospheric data. (The Washington Post)
A rare blue diamond was on display Tuesday at an exhibition of $100 million worth of the world’s most valuable jewels in the United Arab Emirates’ capital, Abu Dhabi. Visitors focused on the 10-karat blue diamond from South Africa, considered one of the most important blue diamonds ever discovered. Sotheby’s expects it to be auctioned off at $20 million in May. (Associated Press)

Understandably by Bill Murphy Jr.

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