QC

This is also important (needs a separate thread). Deep proofs are often found in the shower (specifically—and what is it about showers that do the job?). The mode seems to be kinesthetic, approximately—also a long-evolved vertebrate function.https://twitter.com/St_Rev/status/1149775529802960898 …

I remember reading something like this from Einstein as a 14- or 15 year old, & thinking "wow, maybe math isn't for me". By 24... it seemed totally obvious that of course this is how things work when you're seriously into something.

The strange thing is: this isn't really discussed publicly very often. Yet when I've talked to people who do creative work, especially with mathematics, a considerable fraction seem to have similarly unusual experiences, though the sensory modality may be different.

You studied under Rota? That's amazing! I came across a bunch of his writing as a freshman in college during the phase where I was heavily into combinatorics and really loved it.