A topic that occasionally makes its way into dozens of badly-written news stories is how to think "better." What can we do to come up with better ideas, how do we solve problems more quickly, how do we train our minds to be more efficent? Usually the lede on these stories is some far-fetched interpretation of a study that's preliminary at best, but that's nothing new as far as science writing goes. I heard a snippit on the CBC recently about how we do our best thinking in the shower because our mind is unfocused and free to wander.

That I'll buy. Not just because I wrote a great poem in the shower when I was in grade 5, but for a long time I've found that the best way to deal with a difficult problem was to free up my mind with a long drive. As I've written about before, there were not a few nights in Colorado where I would see the daylight dim and head up the canyon with a mind full of problems to work out. Music on, the sun setting behind the Rockies, and an almost empty road. By the time I reached whatever low summit, perhaps the reservoir backed up against Nederland, with the moon rising overhead and the lights of Denver far off on the plains below, I felt a lot better about whatever had been on my mind. The best part was that it came without conscious effort to think and work it all out. It's hard to compare to the scenery of the canyons, but I get the some of the same effect heading out late in the evening these days to ride.