Incubation

Once the ideas are generated, the next step in the thinking process is incubation. After you have spent time collecting the facts and generating ideas, forget the problem. Hand it over to the subconscious to incubate. The subconscious is a vast computer, which stores everything you have ever seen, felt, smelt or experienced. You may read a book, watch a movie, listen to music or ride a bicycle. Incubation after hard work can result in discovery. Alex Osborne, the advertising genius, said that during incubation, “I lie like a wet leaf on a log of wood and allow the current to carry me where it will.” Osborne continues, "When I am thus involved in doing nothing, I receive a constant stream of telegrams from my subconscious." He feels that he has done his best work when he was really doing nothing. It was during incubation that Newton discovered the laws of gravity. Also bear in mind that luck favors the prepared mind. The thought process involved is a cycle, linking preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification. It was while having a bath that Archimedes discovered the laws of displacement.