Archimedes, Aronofsky, and the Importance of Taking a Break
Dec 29th, 2009 by Carlos
You remember Archimedes of Syracuse, eh? The king asks Archimedes to determine if a present he’s received is actually solid gold. Unsolved problem at the time. It tortures the great Greek mathematician for weeks — insomnia haunts him and he twists and turns in his bed for nights on end. Finally, his equally exhausted wife — she’s forced to share a bed with this genius — convinces him to take a bath to relax. While he’s entering the tub, Archimedes notices the bath water rise. Displacement, a way to determine volume, and that’s a way to determine density — weight over volume. And thus, Archimedes solves the problem. He screams “Eureka” and he is so overwhelmed he runs dripping naked through the streets to the king’s palace to report his discovery.
“Go home Max, and you take a bath.”
—Sol Robeson, from this scene in Pi
In this scene from Pi, Sol is trying to give Max some advice that might help him solve this impossibly complex mathematical problem he’s trying to crack: predicting the stock market with mathematical precision.
Max has been obsessing over it for days, he’s starting to lose his mind, and he’s on the edge of burning out.
Sol tells him to relax and take a bath, like Archimedes did when he was in the middle of his problem.
Our day-to-day foils may not sound as exciting as figuring out if a golden present is real or if the stock market can be “cracked,” but every one of us has obsessed over something we don’t want to let go until we solve it.
Whether it’s finally beating a boss in a video game or getting a piece of code to run just right—we attack some things with a ferocity that won’t allow us to put them down until they’re done.
And that’s great—persistence is a great quality.
But there is a fine line between being persistent and becoming obsessed. The further you cross over that line, the less likely you are to achieve your goal.
So next time you’re feeling obsessed, don’t forget to take a bath.
If you still don’t believe me, check out what science has to say about it.
Great post — very thoughtful, and I appreciate the sentiment. Keep at it — I have no doubt that your perseverance will pay off.
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