The creative brain

One of the most famous texts that address imaginative inspiration is what the German organic chemist Friedrich Kekulé mentioned in the nineteenth century. Kekulé dedicated most of his life to studying the nature of the carbon bond and the structure of benzene. What often happens in the creative process is that issues remain unresolved, but Kekulé solves them in his dreams when he is asleep. He says: "I was sitting working on my book, but the work was in a state of stagnation, and my thoughts were elsewhere. I leaned back in the chair opposite the fire, and drowsiness overcame me, and I fell asleep. And while I was dreaming, I saw atoms jumping in front of my eyes. It was a recurring dream for the second time, but this time the smaller groups stood shyly in the back. And my mind's eye, which had become sharper due to the repeated visions, could now distinguish larger groups of multiple structures. Sometimes, the rows aligned more closely in coils and twists in a movement similar to that of snakes. But look! What was that? One of the snakes had caught its tail, and the shape appeared in a funny form before my eyes. I woke up instantly and spent the rest of the night working on the hypothesis." Number of pages: 256 Year of publication: 2019 Publisher: Dar Al Rafdain for Printing, Publishing, and Distribution