Darwin's Thinking Path
An article in Natural History magazine* provides a simple but
powerful example of the relationship between patterns of
movement and the way we think. The article is a reflection on the
country estate of Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882), the English
biologist and naturalist whose theory of evolution revolutionized
our understanding of natural history and shifted our perception of
human origins.
Darwin acquired Downe House a few years after his return from
his historic voyage aboard HMS Beagle. He spent some 20
years after returning from his travels on the HMS Beagle working
out his theories and their relationship to the evidence he had
gathered and the observations he had made. It was at Downe
House that he wrote his classic works "Origin of Species" and
"Descent of Man".
In describing the estate, the author of the article notes:
"Soon after settling at Downe, Darwin constructed a sand-
covered path known as the sandwalk that still winds through the
shady woods and then returns toward the house along a sunny,
hedge-lined field. He strolled it daily, referring to it as "my
thinking path." Often he would stack a few stones at the path's
entrance and knock one away with his walking stick on
completing each circuit. He could anticipate a "three-flint
problem," just as Sherlock Holmes had "three-pipe problems,"
and then head home when all the stones were gone."
Reading this description, it is easy to imagine Darwin, deep in
thought, strolling along his sandwalk and contemplating some
key aspect of his theory of evolution and natural selection. The
fact that Darwin called the sandwalk his "thinking path" indicates
that he considered his walks along this path to have some
significant connection with his thinking process. It seems as
though repetitive physical movements and activities involving
major muscle groups (such as walking, swimming, biking,
playing tennis, etc.), influence our overall state of mind and
provide a rich context for our thinking processes.
Other historical greats had "thinking paths" of their own. Einstein
played the violin during times of productive thinking, claiming that
it was in some ways an extension of his thinking and that it
helped him to solve particularly tricky problems. Einstein also
loved to sail regularly, reportedly hastily scribbling away in his
notebook whenever the wind died down. Leonardo da Vinci
played the lyre. Mozart claimed that many of his best musical
ideas came while he was walking or riding in a carriage. Similar
to Darwin, other famous thinkers, such as Emmanuel Kant,
walked as part of their daily regimen.
Robert Dilts (NLP developer and trainer) interviewed the founder
of a large Scandinavian shipping company. The founder claimed
that he used different physical activities to help him solve various
problems. For certain issues, he would go out and play golf to
get into the frame of mind required. For other problems, he
would ride his bicycle. He was so specific about which type of
physiology to use that he would say, "You can't golf on that
problem. That's one that you have to ride your bicycle on."
Do you have a "thinking path" that you use? I wonder if there is
an activity you enjoy, that you could do every day, to help
stimulate your thought processes and creativity. There is an
New Guinea proverb which states, "Knowledge is only a rumor
until it's in the muscle." Do you churn and concentrate when
solving problems so intently that you develop muscle tension and
headaches? If so, you might want to take more frequent breaks
and walk, jog, or otherwise use your major muscle groups to
open up your state of mind and relax your mind/body. As
Boston's Museum of Science used to advertise, "It's amazing
how a relaxed mind perceives relationships."
*Keeping Up Down House, Milner, R., Natural History, August, 1996, pp. 54-57
