The excitement of discovery

When working on a challenging problem, the solution might seemingly arrive out-of-the-blue, in what is often referred to as the “Aha!” moment. This moment of sudden insight is unpredictable, and a subjective experience but often accompanied by strong positive emotions. As such it might amount to the excitement of discovery. Or, in the words of Bertrand Russell, the philosopher and mathematician (1872-1970): 'Nothing in the world is more exciting than a moment of sudden discovery or invention, and many more people are capable of experiencing such moments than is sometimes thought.'.