Creativity flow and the psychology of discovery and invention download

If you’ve ever become lost in an activity—playing video games, running, or making art—you’ve noticed that you become completely immersed in the present moment, rising to the challenge of the experience without becoming bored, frustrated, or tired. Thoughts about the past, future, and even the self melt away. Time seems to fly by. You’re in the zone. This is the flow state, first described by late Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the 1970s. Researchers have been chasing the concept ever since, trying to figure out how and why we enter the flow state and how we can get more of this inherently rewarding experience in our everyday lives, in both work and play. Flow is not only an enjoyable state, it is also seen as personally meaningful. “When the self loses itself in a transcendent purpose—whether to write great poetry, craft beautiful furniture, understand the motions of galaxies, or help children be happier—the self becomes largely invulnerable to the fears … [Read more...] about How the Flow State Keeps Us Creative, Focused, and Happy

0 This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own. Arts & Entertainment Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts announces exciting 22-23 schedule of performances and lectures Robby Piazzaroli , Community Contributor Posted Reply Fairfield University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts is thrilled to announce its new 2022-23 schedule of live performances, lectures, screenings, and more. High-profile artists include performances by renowned jazz artists Preservation Jazz Hall Band and Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour. Premieres include the opera Nehanda by Nora Chipaumire and The Stranger by theatre-maker Brett Bailey. Internationally acclaimed artists include the U.K.’s Kingdom Choir, Israeli-based Vertigo Dance, and Montreal’s own Cirque Alfonse. Thought leaders include Judy Woodruff, Carl Bernstein, Frances Haugen, Evelyn Tribole, Bret Stephens, Rev. Naomi … [Read more...] about Quick Center’s New Season is Live – More Robust & Diverse Than Ever

In 2012, Stephen Sondheim, then 81, was still determinedly focused on working, creating—the process he famously called the hat . In his New York City home, he told this reporter for a London Times profile , “I’m not a retiring type. I’m not a golf player. I can’t imagine sitting in front of the television. Painful as it is, writing is still fun and I don’t have anything else to do.” “Obviously, I think about my mortality, particularly when your friends are dying—all my collaborators on West Side Story and Gypsy are dead. I’m the only one left,” Sondheim added, as he showed me his piano and orderly-cluttered work space in his Turtle Bay townhouse. “I would love to live my life again knowing what I know now,” Sondheim told me. “I might enjoy things more fully, appreciating moments for what they were instead of taking them for granted.” Now Sondheim has died at the age of 91, as first reported by The New York Times . The pre-eminent composer-lyricist and … [Read more...] about Up Close and Very Personal With the Real Stephen Sondheim

As mainstream cinema becomes increasingly dominated by a select few types of films— superhero extravaganzas , nostalgia-exploiting IP tentpoles , and the occasional precious feel-good indie —the potential for genuine surprise has largely been lost. That’s by design: Studios recognize that the more customers are prepared for what they’ve paid to see and are able to comfortably remain one step ahead of those entertainments, the more likely they are to enjoy them—hence, for example, theatrical trailers and TV commercials that deliberately spoil crucial plot points, thrilling moments, and funny one-liners in advance. Predictability is safe and reliable, and thus the 2022 movie landscape is littered with projects designed to placate more than to shock and astonish . Someone, however, apparently forgot to impart this message to Peter Strickland, the British-born auteur whose feature-length works— Berberian Sound Studio , The Duke of Burgundy , and In Fabric —are … [Read more...] about ‘Flux Gourmet’ Is a Gorgeous Gross-Out Erotic Food Movie That Will Floor You

0 Restaurants & Bars McDonald's is selling its classic Egg McMuffin for 63 cents Thursday to celebrate its 50th birthday. Here's how to get it in Aurora. Emily Rosca , Patch Staff Posted | Updated Reply AURORA, IL — You can have a breakfast party like it's 1971 on Thursday at McDonald's restaurants in Aurora when the price of an Egg McMuffin goes back to the original price of 63 cents. Why? The sandwich is turning 50. "The Egg McMuffin, the first-ever quick service restaurant breakfast sandwich, joined the McDonald's menu in 1971 in Santa Barbara, California, and customers have been getting creative with it ever since," Molly McKenna, McDonald's senior director of brand communications, said in a news release. Subscribe to Patch's free Aurora newsletter and get real-time email alerts. The promotion runs from 6 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Thursday and is offered exclusively on the McDonald's app. In … [Read more...] about McDonald’s Egg McMuffin Is 50: Get It For 63 Cents In Aurora