Why does the solution to a problem you’ve been stuck with, sometimes come to mind all of a sudden? Is my mind working on it “behind the scenes” without me “knowing”?

Question

I like to develop games as a hobby, and therefore usually encounter a lot of programming challenges, in other words: features i want to implement but dont really know how.

Ocasionally i spend a lot of time try to solve it, without success, and then, usually in the next couple of days, the thought containing the correct solution will suddenly appear in my mind, without me consciously focusing or even thinking about that topic.

What happened? Did my mind keep working on it, without me even “knowing” and then presented the solution?

Thanks!

In: Biology

Answer 1

Your brain needs to convert short term memory to long term memory that is ingrained, and build the connections around it. It does this while we are sleeping. The stronger connections your brain forms for neural pathways around a problem allow you to have a seemingly A-Ha moment later on. When you hyper focus on something your brain learns that it needs to be better at that, and accommodates. But it takes time to build those connections.