Text: Solveig Hansen / ChatGPT

In comic strips, it’s always the same: a light bulb appears over someone’s head when they get a brilliant idea — bright, sudden, electric. It’s the visual shorthand for what psychologists call an “insight event” — defined by Collins Dictionary as “an instant at which the solution to a problem becomes clear.” Most of us simply say, “It just popped into my head.”

Aha moments come in all shapes and intensities.

Some are seismic. Think of those moments when authoritarian leaders, once celebrated, suddenly stand exposed in front of the TV cameras of the world. The cheering stops. A collective question rises: What did we ever see in them? A crack appears, and through it, truth floods in.

Others are shared in moments of crisis — during earthquakes, in the silent tension of space rescues, or in the cheering when trapped miners emerge into daylight. These are aha moments of unity. They remind us what we’re capable of when we act from our best selves.

And then, there are the quiet ones.

Mine usually arrive at the keyboard. I’ll be stuck in a story, fumbling for an ending — and then, unexpectedly, a line appears. Not planned. Not forced. It just lands. And I know. The piece is finished. My fingers lift, my shoulders drop. It’s not a world-changing event, I know that. It’s more like a near-aha-experience. And I can’t stop smiling.

I’m all for aha moments!

What was your most recent aha moment?

What sparked it — and what did it change?