We’ve all had them. Whether you call them eureka moments, epiphanies or whatever, we’ve all had them. My son had a professor who called it toilet philosophy. When you don’t have to do any research; you just have to think about a given topic.
Einstein had his thought experiments. That’s how he envisioned either general or special relativity (I can’t remember which). In his thought experiment he was riding on a rocket and shining his flashlight off into space. I’m not sure Einstein would be onboard with the term “toilet philosophy”.
At many of life’s moments, its necessary to have a process of critical thinking. When writing a PhD dissertation, for example. Otherwise, it’s just research and experimentation. You may need a critical thinking process for a creative undertaking, like writing a story, or thinking of a punchline to a joke.
Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson had an approach that he called rhythm logic. He said it was taught to him by a shaman, or something like that. He said that he would try his hardest to become the person he was trying to emulate… when he was trying to get inside someone’s head. I think of this as method acting. When you become a character and remain that character for as long as it takes.
Whatever you call it, it sure feels good to have one.