Experiment phase three is complete. As it turns out, coffee and other caffeinated beverages are excellent at improving focus, but not sustaining it. Of course, everyone already knew that much. But their effect on creativity is actually profound. With the mind being sharpened, the creative juices also flow much more freely, for that time anyway.
So…I’m giving caffeine a score of eight out of ten. Excellent if you can get your hands on some, but long-terms effects on the creative brain are still to be determined. Needs further research.
So that’s experiment three. I’ve covered caffeine, sleep-deprivation and working in absolute silence. Now, I’ d like to gauge the effectiveness of working in a relaxing, seaside environment. Essentially, the creative brain’s response to a holiday. I’ve already looked into accommodation in Lorne, and it seems like an appropriate place to carry out my thesis. Sun, sand, surf, coffee shops, bookshops, long walks along beaches and all the kinds of things I’d like to test, eventually.
See, the beach at Lorne itself is more of a backdrop. I’d actually like to test the influence of relaxation upon the creative brain, so a beach setting just seem to be ideal in creating that. Caffeine creates stimulation, which in turn spurs the creativity on to greater heights. In theory, relaxation on the beach should whittle it down to a low level, almost inactivity. And yet, the last time I went with my family to the beach, I found that my drive to go to the coffee shop and work on my short stories was very high indeed. Curious…and perhaps related to my theorem that we are conditioned to be creative only in times of idleness, while the waking hours are to be mostly devoted to ‘mundane affairs’.
I’ll be sure to find a beach apartment in Lorne suited to my personal tastes, otherwise the experiment is pointless. Now, all the remains to be seen is if the combination of luxury accommodation, sun, beach walks and a slower pace of life actually improves the creative brain…or hinders it.
-Royce