Experiencing the impossible and creativity: a targeted literature review

Abstract

Previous work suggests that unexpected and surprising experiences (e.g., living in another culture or looking at surreal images) promotes creative thinking. This targeted literature review examines whether the inherent cognitive disruption associated with experiencing the seemingly impossible has a similar effect. Correlational and experimental research across six domains (entertainment magic, fantasy play, virtual reality and computer gaming, dreaming, science fiction/fantasy, and anomalous experiences) provided consistent support for the hypothesis. In addition, anecdotal evidence illustrated the possible impact that the creative output associated with each of these areas may have had on technology, science, and the arts. It is argued that impossible experiences are an important driver of creative thinking, thus accounting for reports of such experiences across the lifespan and throughout history. The theoretical and practical implications of this work are discussed, along with recommendations for future research.

Facilitating real-life creative insight through psychedelic virtual reality

“…Importantly, participants in the non-psychedelic VR group did not report characteristics of increased cognitive flexibility as did participants who received the simulated psychedelic experience. This is consistent with previous literature, as awe-inducing and impossible experiences such as the psychedelic simulation are suggested to help relax mental constraints imposed by the individual's prior knowledge more efficiently (Wiseman & Watt, 2022;Tulver et al, 2023;Hendricks, 2018). Consequently, despite all participants experiencing mental tension due to their unresolved creative problem, Psyrreal may have facilitated more moments of insight due to its ability to better promote openness and liberate participants from their self-imposed cognitive restrictions.…”

“…There are both correlational (Silvia et al, 2015;Zhang et al, 2021) and experimental (Chirico et al, 2018;Shiota, Keltner, & Mossman, 2007) studies suggesting that awe-inspiring experiences enhance creativity. A similar idea was thoroughly examined by Wiseman and Watt (2022) in their recent review article, highlighting how encountering impossible events such as illusions, magic tricks, bizarre dreams, and fantastical or surreal narratives can facilitate creativity.…”

“…There is evidence of VR's potential to influence perception (Laak et al, 2017;Vasser et al, 2019), enhance cognitive flexibility (Rastelli et al, 2022), help reduce symptoms of depression (Kaup et al, 2023) and possibly catalyze some aspects of the psychedelic experience like detachment from familiar reality, changes in self-experience and mystical experiences (Sekula, Downey, & Puspanathan, 2022). Additionally, virtual reality has been discussed as a promising method for inducing impossible experiences (Wiseman & Watt, 2022). It is, however, yet unknown whether mimicking the effects of psychedelics in a VR environment can also affect creativity.…”

Representing mental disorders with virtual reality applications: Designing for multimodality and complex participation

“…Even though perspective-taking is possible only for a very limited time, it nevertheless sharpens the senses of the participant, helping them achieve a "sense of impossibility," as defined in [reference removed for review] as an experiencer feeling present in a world while knowing that the world is unreal, an element that strengthens the immersivity of a production. According to a study by Wiseman and Watt (2022), such experiences can play causal roles in enhancing creativity (Wiseman and Watt, 2022), and a more creative attitude on the side of the experiencer can lead to a better understanding of mental health issues.…”