Moshe Bar | Mindwandering: How It Can Improve Your Mood and Boost Your Creativity | Talks at Google

Summary

1. The brain uses memory to anticipate and simulate

Moshe Bar traces his research interest from object recognition to the associations between things that commonly appear together. These associations help people store and retrieve information, but they also let the brain anticipate what may come next—for example, what is likely to be found in a kitchen.

Bar describes the brain as strongly predictive: memories help it prepare for everyday situations and goals. He discusses predictive-processing theories in which the brain generates expectations, compares them with sensory input, and adjusts them when they do not match. He finds the strongest versions of this theory too extreme, but agrees that prediction is a major function of memory and cognition.

2. The brain remains active when attention turns inward

Early functional MRI studies often treated periods between tasks as “rest,” assuming little was happening in the brain. Researchers later observed that the brain remains active during these periods, with a consistent network of regions working together—the default mode network. Bar connects this activity with mind wandering and internal simulations. He cites estimates that people spend a substantial portion of their waking time mind wandering, though the exact amount is an estimate rather than a fixed rule.

3. States of mind are connected and changeable

Bar presents mental states as a continuum between exploration and exploitation:

• Exploration involves broader attention, openness to new experiences, creativity, curiosity, and greater willingness to take risks.
• Exploitation involves narrower attention and concentration on details, familiar routines, or a specific task.

These qualities tend to move together. Bar says that creativity is often associated with better mood, broader attention, and openness, while narrow focus can be useful for completing tasks. Neither state is always preferable: what matters is matching one’s state to the task. These are general tendencies, not universal rules, and people differ in their individual ranges.

4. Mind wandering can help, but repetitive thought can harm

Bar describes thought as movement through a connected network of memories and concepts. Thinking may stay near one topic or move more broadly through associations.

• Broad associative thinking can support creativity by connecting ideas that are not obviously related.
• Narrow, repetitive thinking can be useful when a problem needs close attention.
• When narrow, negative thought becomes persistent, it can turn into rumination—repeatedly revisiting a concern or mistake. Bar links chronic rumination with depression and says it can consume cognitive resources, making it harder to enjoy ordinary activities.
• He also refers to intrusive and obsessive thoughts as other problematic patterns.

The key distinction is not simply whether thoughts wander, but whether a person becomes stuck in a pattern.

5. Influence mind wandering indirectly

Bar says people have limited conscious control over when mind wandering starts or stops: external events often capture attention and interrupt it. Still, people can sometimes influence what their minds are likely to wander toward.

He describes a practical strategy of priming a topic before a walk, run, or errand: read or think about a challenging question, a passage, or a problem beforehand. Since mind wandering draws on memory, this may make the topic more likely to appear during spontaneous thought. This is presented as a personal strategy, not as a guaranteed scientific prescription.

More generally, Bar recommends noticing one’s current state and using accessible “entry points” to shift it. For example, if a person wants to be more creative, improving their mood or doing something exploratory may help; directly ordering oneself to “feel better” or “be more creative” may be less effective. He stresses that these shifts are not exact controls.

6. Creativity requires both opening and narrowing

Bar describes creative problem-solving as a two-stage process, often illustrated as a diamond:

1. Divergent thinking: Generate many possible ideas. Avoid judging or rejecting suggestions too early; even unusual ideas can be useful starting points.
2. Convergent thinking: Evaluate the possibilities, narrow them down, and select a workable solution.

A creative task therefore needs both an open, exploratory phase and a focused, evaluative phase. The best conditions may differ between the two stages.

7. Mindfulness can help people observe thought

Bar does not present himself as a mindfulness expert, but says meditation has been valuable to him and recommends trying a retreat at least once. He describes mindfulness as learning to observe thoughts rather than being carried along by them. A person may notice a thought’s subject, pace, or breadth, and adopt a “bystander” perspective toward the stream of thought.

He also distinguishes three ways of engaging with experience:

• Mind wandering: Attention has drifted elsewhere.
• Mindfulness: A person notices and narrates the present experience.
• Immersion: A person is absorbed in the experience without wandering or mentally describing it.

Bar argues that immersion can be rewarding in activities such as tasting food or driving a car. In his view, being mindful of every detail is not the only way to be present; sometimes letting go of narration allows fuller enjoyment.

8. Mind wandering supports learning through imagined scenarios

The mind can construct “what if” simulations of events that have never happened. Bar argues that such imagined experiences can be stored and later used to guide behavior, much as real experiences can. He illustrates this with an airplane daydream in which he mentally works through what he might do if an emergency exit opened. The example is deliberately extreme, but demonstrates how spontaneous simulation can combine remembered objects and their properties into a possible response.

9. Environments and cognitive load matter

Bar says the surroundings can influence attention, mood, and creativity. He and an architect used the term “conscious cities” for applying knowledge of human psychology to urban design. The aim is to design spaces around the needs and likely behavior of the people using them—for example, considering how crowds move through public areas or how classrooms might support creative thought. He does not offer a definitive checklist of design features.

He also discusses cognitive load: when attention is occupied by worries, tasks, or competing demands, fewer resources remain for creative incubation and for appreciating experiences such as art. Technology may add to or redirect that load, but Bar does not give a universal design prescription; he suggests that people’s needs differ and that personalization may help.

10. Individual differences and possible AI applications

Bar says people have different ranges of ability and temperament; not everyone can reach the same level of creativity. However, individuals can move within their own range as their mood, attention, and circumstances change.

He also considers whether computers can be creative. He defines creativity in part as producing something both novel and useful, and suggests that a system could generate alternative uses for familiar objects by exploring their properties and associations. He speculates that giving computers a form of mind wandering might support incubation and creativity, while acknowledging that the purpose of human mind wandering is not fully understood.

Speakers and sources featured

• Danielle Persik — Google researcher and moderator/interviewer.
• Moshe Bar — neuroscientist and author of Mindwandering.
• Audience members — Several people ask questions; one questioner is addressed as Tomic, while the others are not identified by name.
• Researchers referenced by Bar — Marcus Raichle, Peterson, and other researchers involved in work on resting-state brain activity and the default mode network.
• Other people referenced in discussion — Al Shani, a chef cited as an example of creativity, and an audience member’s daughter, mentioned in an anecdote. They do not speak in the video.