title: Einstein's creative thinking and the general theory of relativity: a documented report.
abstract: A document written by Albert Einstein has recently come to light in which the eminent scientist described the actual sequence of his thoughts leading to the development of the general theory of relativity. The key creative thought was an instance of a type of creative cognition the author has previously designated "Janusian thinking," Janusian thinking consists of actively conceiving two or more opposite or antithetical concepts, ideas, or images simultaneously. This form of high-level secondary process cognition has been found to operate widely in art, science, and other fields.
mesh_terms: D003405:Creativity; D005858:Germany; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010825:Physics / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States