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Contrary to the name, shower thoughts aren't exclusive to showers. From long walks to mowing the lawn, many everyday activities seem to have the right circumstances to allow the brain to have these little aha moments.
But they also happen to be situations where it's difficult to take notes — turns out that mechanical engagement is perfect for free association, but getting a pen and paper can take you out of the experience.
One TikTok user, however, seems to have beaten the system. He goes by the nickname Shower Thoughts Guy and constantly produces videos that allow him to keep this title. Continue scrolling and check out his best one-liners.
More info: TikTok
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There haven't been a lot of experiments on why we get random insights, but psychology does have one theory that describes a mental state that seems to foment these kinds of thoughts. It's called the default mode network.
"You become less aware of your environment and more aware of your internal thoughts," John Kounios, a psychologist who studies creativity and distraction at Drexel University in Philadelphia, told WIRED.
#4
Mohsie Supposie 3 years ago (edited)
At the same time, you might make a decision that will take your life... and one day you will.
The common thing in these activities is they are physically or mentally active, but only mildly — they're also familiar or comfortable enough that we stay engaged but not bored, and last long enough to have an uninterrupted stream of thought.
Kounios explained that our brains typically catalog things by their context: Windows are parts of buildings, and the stars belong in the night sky. Ideas will always mingle to some degree, but when we’re focused on a specific task our thinking tends to be linear.
#6
Kira Okah 3 years ago (edited)
That Satan punishes sinners is an idea conflating Satan and Hades, as is Satan living in hell. If you're coming from a Christian perspective then...no he doesn't on either count, that isn't in the Bible. Satan is evil because he tempts people into doing wicked acts with loaded promises and lies, thus sending their soul to the eternal fire of hell. He doesn't live in hell, he doesn't sit on a throne and punish the wicked. Satan lies and manipulates to send the souls of others there in place of him.
Kounios likes to explain it with a stack of bricks in your backyard. You walk by them every day with hardly a second thought, and if asked you'd describe them as a building material (maybe for that pizza oven you keep meaning to put together). But one day in the shower, you start thinking about your neighbor's walnut tree.
"Those nuts sure look tasty, and they’ve been falling in your yard."
You suddenly realize that you can smash those nuts open using the bricks in your backyard!
As far as Eureka moments go, using a brick as a nutcracker is pretty lame, but as an illustration of how the default mode network frees the things in your brain from external associations, it works wonderfully. As ideas become untethered, they are free to bump up against other ideas they've never had the chance to encounter, increasing the likelihood of a useful connection. And this guy seems to be aware of that!
#8
Couch potato 3 years ago
Oh, thanks for ruining my day. Before now I never had to think about that. :'(
#13
Couch potato 3 years ago
By now my brain is questioning my existence and currently im only on the 15th one
#15
Couch potato 3 years ago
Oh yeah. If i never searched up im bored during school, I never would have come across bored panda :)
#17
Thorfin Wolfsbane 3 years ago
that would beat the pants off of any fireworks show you could imagine, though
#28
Sage Gusano 3 years ago
Yep. That's the issue I have with Gremlins. "Never feed them after midnight", but there's no feeding window of time given....since, technically ever minute from 12:01 AM until it turns 12:00 AM again is after midnight.
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What do you think ?
Rick 3 years ago
If you’re a parent to a young child, you won’t know when the day will happen, but there will be one day which is the last day you will ever pick your child up and hold them in your arms.
Dodo 3 years ago
As a non-parent, this one freaks me out. When was the last time I was picked up? Why was I picked up? Why wasn't I picked up after that?
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BlackPearltheSeaWing/NightWing 3 years ago
When you're reading you're really just staring at a dead tree and vividly hallucinating. Also the dead tree is tattooed.
MusicalCatTroll 3 years ago
If ur reading on a device ur just staring at a bunch of pixels with different colors
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Audrey Tate 3 years ago
These are great! They remind me of the old SNL sketch "Deep Thoughts" By Jack Handey
Daniel Atkins 3 years ago
my favorite: When I was a kid my favorite relative was Uncle Caveman. After school we'd all go and play in his cave, and every once in a while he would eat one of us. It wasn't until later that I found out Uncle Caveman was a bear. -Jack Handy
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Rick 3 years ago
If you’re a parent to a young child, you won’t know when the day will happen, but there will be one day which is the last day you will ever pick your child up and hold them in your arms.
Dodo 3 years ago
As a non-parent, this one freaks me out. When was the last time I was picked up? Why was I picked up? Why wasn't I picked up after that?
Load More Replies... BlackPearltheSeaWing/NightWing 3 years ago
When you're reading you're really just staring at a dead tree and vividly hallucinating. Also the dead tree is tattooed.
MusicalCatTroll 3 years ago
If ur reading on a device ur just staring at a bunch of pixels with different colors
Load More Replies... Audrey Tate 3 years ago
These are great! They remind me of the old SNL sketch "Deep Thoughts" By Jack Handey
Daniel Atkins 3 years ago
my favorite: When I was a kid my favorite relative was Uncle Caveman. After school we'd all go and play in his cave, and every once in a while he would eat one of us. It wasn't until later that I found out Uncle Caveman was a bear. -Jack Handy
Load More Replies... Related on Bored Panda
