By Mark Salamon, September 1, 2018
A groundbreaking new study out of the Georgia Institute of Technology has shown that daydreaming is actually a sign of superior intelligence. That’s right, according to co-author Dr. Eric Schumacher, daydreaming during things like conversations and meetings “might be a sign that you’re really smart and creative,” and that “people with efficient brains may have too much brain capacity to stop their minds from wandering.” (1)
So I would just like to say to my wife, my mother, my kids, all my teachers, and anyone else who has ever attempted to have a conversation with me, I’m sorry, it’s not my fault, it’s just that I HAVE TOO MUCH BRAIN CAPACITY.
The findings, which were published in the journal Neuropsychologia (2), used MRI imaging and questionnaires to determine that those who daydreamed more frequently “scored higher on intellectual and creative ability and had more efficient brain systems measured in the MRI machine.” Schumacher adds that you can tell if you have an efficient brain if “you can zone in and out of conversations or tasks when appropriate, then naturally tune back in without missing important points or steps.” That describes me exactly, except for the part about not missing important points.
The authors suggest that further research is needed to determine when daydreaming is harmful and when it is helpful. I would like to suggest that we could save some precious research dollars because everyone in the universe already knows the answer to this question. It is harmful when talking to your spouse. It is helpful when talking to anyone else.