Focused and Diffuse: Two Modes of Thinking

Diffuse-mode thinking is also essential for learning math and science. It allows us to suddenly gain a new insight on a problem we’ve been struggling with and is associated with “big-picture” perspectives. Diffuse-mode thinking is what happens when you relax your attention and just let your mind wander.

The bottom line is that problem solving in any discipline often involves an exchange between the two fundamentally different modes.

you are trying to understand or figure out something new, your best bet is to turn off your precision-focused thinking and turn on your “big picture” diffuse mode,

To learn about and be creative in math and science, we need to strengthen and use both the focused and diffuse modes.19

But as long as we are consciously focusing on a problem, we are blocking the diffuse mode.

Diffuse-mode thinking is what happens when you relax your attention and just let your mind wander. This relaxation can allow different areas of the brain to hook up and return valuable insights. … Diffuse-mode insights often flow from preliminary thinking that’s been done in the focused mode.