![]() But there are also a lot of imaginative processes that don’t have to be sensory in nature. Certainly, when people talk about imagination they talk about imagery, and that’s part of it. “But imagination is creating possible scenarios in your head. ![]() “Imagination is a word that is used in a lot of ways, and it’s hard to define for science in a technical way,” he says. The Merriam-Webster dictionary says it is “the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality.” But Jim Davies, director of the Science of Imagination Laboratory at Carleton University in Canada, and author of the forthcoming book, Imagination: Understanding Our Mind’s Greatest Power, says that it’s more than just a sensory thing. Imagination is a cognitive ability that is difficult to define (and not everyone has it). A study by scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mouth Sinai finds that imagining a threat activates the same neural substrate as reacting to a threat that exists in reality, suggesting that imagination might be useful in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders like anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But imagination may offer more than a way to approach problem-solving and creative endeavors: research suggests that imagination may have use in the doctor’s office, too. In a 1929 interview with the Saturday Evening Post, scientist Albert Einstein stated, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Today, you can find that quote emblazoned on posters, mugs, and T-shirts, inspiring the next generation of artists and scientists to use their imaginations to discover, design, and create.
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