That Eureka Moment
Perspectives from The Artist's Road
The King’s Sadness, 1952
(used in accordance with fair use principles)
Henri Matisse
“Great wits are sure to madness near allied,
And thin partitions do their bounds divide.”
- John Dryden
Inspiration is one of those common human experiences that is today still little understood. There are many anecdotes and myths about the inspirational moments which led to great advances in the sciences or arts. The most popular myth about sudden inspiration is the story of Newton’s apple. The whole truth about that incident is that Newton had been working on the problem of gravity for twenty years - teaching himself mathematics and inventing calculus before he was able to pull everything together in what may have appeared to be a sudden flash of inspiration. Sometimes called the “eureka” moment, or the “aha” moment, the exact p…