My mind wandered half way through the article.

Read "Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance", and achieve some understanding of why this might be :)

I find that if I am concentrating on a problem that has me stumped, I can head off to make a brew, stare out of the window and some times suddenly the answer will pop into my head.

.... Donuts....!

Just think how hard the mental GPU has to work to provide that full-colour hi-res interactive pornstream-daydream! And that's before we even get to a physics model...

But how do I solve my employers problems by daydreaming?

The trick is not to stare at the ceiling but at your screen with a furrowing brow. Don't keep your face immobile for too long, that'll be suspicious. Nodding sometimes helps a lot, too.

There's an art to it, you know.

"I muse the mystery was not made a science - it is so liberally professed."

(Ben Jonson)

A daydreaming icon? Please!

I've been in an important cognitive state all day so far

"...your mind may be taking that time to address more important questions in your life, such as advancing your career or personal relationships."

Just as I thought. While my brain might be doing something helpful for once it's instead carrying out its own agenda. Well it's not going to get away with it. OH YES I AM. No! Nooooo!

"...your mind may be taking that time to address more important questions in your life, such as advancing your career or personal relationships."

What? My mind is a woman?

The operative word is *may*. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.

But I do worry that the ever-present distraction of the web gets in the way of (potentially) more productive daydreaming...

I'm a stereotypic, regular guy, divorced, live alone, 1 bedroom apartment, wear the same pair of jeans all week, have 40 or 50 blue hued t shirts so I can wear a fresh one everyday. It's my concession to society's norms. But I've a dirty little secret. I like doing housework. Dishes, laundry, vacuuming, general clean up are all willingly undertaken, all for the same reasons. I solve complex problems while doing menial tasks, and, even if I fail to come up with solutions or new avenues of investigation, I finish up my housework feeling clear headed. AND chicks like guys who keep their apartments clean. I do my own bike maintenance and computer building and maintenance for the same reasons. Menial tasks keep body consciousness occupied while the more, deep thinking parts of the brain tackle complex problems. Of course if all else fails I can crib work to make puerile comments at productivity eating IT sites.

... lemme daydream... does that include watching youtube flicks?

This article is just what i need today.

From early age upto adolescense i've been stuffed with neuroleptics and early on even barbituates. Because i was daydreaming to much. My IQ was even put to the question as i "was just not there" for them. To the amazement of many the meds drugged me to levels only junkies know.

20 years later i learn a side-effect of these meds is you're not able to count very well after extremely high doses. This effect lasts for life and is not-repairable. Almost ruined my liver.

Bottomline, don't let them pill-doctors near your kids at any age if the reason why is vagueish.

Science is just a METHOD nothing to do with right or wrong or vision or compassion or understanding of a greater whole, that's for them daydreamers them wanted to fix.

Bloody Idiots.

Bloody hell I thought it was just my boss, his boss, my workmates, the government and that weird looking guy on the street corner that was out to get me. Now your saying my brain could be plotting against me too!

"The division of the psychical into what is conscious and what is unconscious is the fundamental premise of psychoanalysis. Very powerful mental processes or ideas exist in the unconscious which can produce all the effects in mental life that ordinary ideas do though they themselves do not become conscious."

Sigmund Freud, The Ego & the Id, 1923

When I'm swimming. It's a great way to wind down and let my brain sort things out (like pent up agression from anonymous cowards who post flames on El Reg). I go into autopilot (or should that be autoswim) mode and by the time my brain has sorted everything out I get out the pool and sit in the sauna.

I guess that's why I'm a toned hunk of a man with the lung capacity of a Whale- because I have a lot on my mind :-)

and sometimes I just sits

for the Walter Mitty in all of us.