from: Ulrich Schnabel: Auf der Suche nach dem Kapiertrieb. Die Zeit Nr.48/2002, page 35
"Every Aha experience is rewarded by a thrill in the brain
Special messengers make learning fun.
It can be observed with babies - the ones who have not
been de-trained the fun of learning."
It is a great moment to be able to say: I have done it!
A difficult problem, a problem in daily life, something that has been bothering us for quite some time or a riddle is solved. One leans back, relaxes and is completely pleased with the world and oneself.
When was the last time you experienced something like this? You will probably remember!
Archimedes` exclamation comes out of such a context:
Archimedes (287?-212 B.C.) was considered one of the greatest minds
even in his day. There are several legends about his life. One goes as follows:
The king of Syrakus had a crown made from a gold bar, but he mistrusted
the goldsmith. He asked Archimedes to check, if the crown was truly made
out of pure gold, without melting it together again. While taking a bath Archimedes got a brilliant idea. He noticed how a certain amount of water
has been displaced as he entered the bathtub.
Smart as he was, he applied this insight to the crown problem and discovered the principle of hydrostatic. This realization freaked him out so much,
that he ran out of the bathroom naked, exclaiming: "Eureka, Eureka!". This
discovery had bad consequences for the goldsmith. Archimedes was able
to find out, that the crown was made out of many other supplements rather than gold. So the king had the goldsmith executed.
How was Archimedes able to reveal the betrayal?
Such an experience has another special side-effect - which does not neces sarily leads up to a Nobel prize or as in Archimedes`s case, cost the goldsmith`s head:
The next problem is faced with more confidence and boldness. Why should it not work this time to master a problem at hand?!
That is why, if students are to be put in a position, to experience such highly effective Eureka-Effects, they have to be confronted with suitable problems, meaning individually difficult problems, where obstacles have to be overcome. At the same time they have to be given learning opportunities, to overcome such obstacles and difficulties - especially with strategies of problem solving, so called heuristic means.