News at Eleven (Back Page): The benefit of obstacles

also carries over into totally unrelated tasks, which is why beginning the day with a difficult crossword puzzle or writing a haiku can help people to become better real-world problem solvers.

Poets intuited this truth long ago, which is why they cling to poetic forms. The artificial requirements of the sonnet are just another cognitive obstacle, a hurdle that compels the mind to think in a more expansive fashion.

from The Wall Street Journal: Chains That Set Us Free

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