𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟭: "𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴."

He argued it's about slipping into playful "𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦" relaxed pondering, silly doodles, embracing uncertainty, lingering in ambiguity until unexpected connections spark. Humour, he said, flips us into this mode quicker than anything else—yet fear of mistakes shuts it down fastest.

𝗜𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, 𝗴𝗲𝗻-𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘃er 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵: dev-fast, pattern-perfect, no discomfort required. Brilliant for closed-mode execution, but what happens when we shortcut the messy incubation, the hands-dirty hesitation, the childlike play that births true originality? Brain research (e.g., MIT Media Lab's 2025 EEG preprint on ChatGPT essay writing) points to "cognitive debt": weaker neural connectivity, lower engagement in memory/attention areas, reduced ownership, flatter outputs.

The hopeful bit? That open-mode fugue isn't lost—it's retrainable. Neuroplasticity lets us rekindle it with deliberate, tactile habits that rebuild tolerance for ambiguity and spark fresh links.

A few daily tricks that work for me (deeper dive in the article)

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/john-cleeses-1991-creativity-lessons-more-urgent-than-spencer-harvey-3gpje?trackingId=qCQwaM27HSOXQDhMi6UdDg%3D%3D&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_recent_activity_content_view%3BYBtmAregQFqYhsTz%2BWGksw%3D%3D

Cleese would chuckle: play isn't lazy—it's essential. Organisations (and now AI tools) often punish pondering as inefficiency; guard those playful pockets, use AI as accelerator not crutch, and we stay irreplaceable.

What's one small ritual you protect (or want to start) to keep 'open mode' alive in this AI age? Share below—let's compare notes. 😊