
Why Walking Helps Us Think (2014) - bootload
http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/walking-helps-us-think
======
jtraffic
"our brain must survey the surrounding environment, construct a mental map of
the world, settle on a way forward"

A colleague in my phd program went on the job market this year with research
that is related to this, especially to the connection between writing and
walking discussed in the final paragraph.

In a nutshell, his theory and experimental evidence suggest that we use the
same cognitive mechanisms to process real maps as we do abstract maps. In
particular, he shows that we often have mental "landmarks." He focuses on
number lines as maps, and suggests that the round numbers behave like
landmarks. He shows that all of the known cognitive signatures of the way we
process landmarks on, say, a road-trip are present for these abstract
landmarks.

He shows the same thing with textures in the context of anchoring and
adjusting (we anchor on an initial texture and use it as a cognitive
landmark.)

To me, his theory is extremely compelling and explains a lot. It makes sense
that our brains, as our environments have become more complex, have adapted to
use spatial cognition to process the abstract.

EDIT: Here is a link to his CV:
[http://marketingphdjobs.org/sites/default/files/Gaurav%20Jai...](http://marketingphdjobs.org/sites/default/files/Gaurav%20Jain_CV.pdf).
The paper I'm talking about is called "Presence of Numerical Landmarks and
Their Effects on Judgments." He hasn't posted it on the web, I'll see if I can
get a copy from him and post it (if he's ok with me doing so.)

~~~
Fricken
There's the loci method for memorization:

The method of loci (loci being Latin for "places") is a method of memory
enhancement which uses visualizations with the use of spatial memory, familiar
information about one's environment, to quickly and efficiently recall
information. The method of loci is also known as the memory journey, memory
palace, or mind palace technique. Many memory contest champions claim to use
this technique to recall faces, digits, and lists of words. These champions'
successes have little to do with brain structure or intelligence, but more to
do with using spatial memory and the use of the method of loci.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci)

Correlations have been found between memory and the playing of 3D video games,
which also utilize our spatial memory. (Though wandering around in a video
game is probably a subpar surrogate for doing the same thing in meatspace.)

[https://news.uci.edu/faculty/playing-3-d-video-games-can-
boo...](https://news.uci.edu/faculty/playing-3-d-video-games-can-boost-memory-
formation-uci-study-finds/)

I also recommend this BBC video of a persistence hunter tracking and running
down a Kudu, just as an illustration of how walking/running,
language/tracking, spatial memory, and planning/creativity are all tied
together as a system that was once necessary for our survival:

[https://youtu.be/826HMLoiE_o](https://youtu.be/826HMLoiE_o)

~~~
z3t4
am i the only one that can remember where in the code something is located ?
By remembering the shape of the code.

~~~
yawz
I can definitely relate to that.

~~~
thefalcon
Yeah, the document preview pane in Sublime Text is like a live satellite map
of my code that gives me the ability to warp wherever I want.

~~~
gulperxcx
Same here with the minimap in Atom

------
bootload
_". When we go for a walk, the heart pumps faster, circulating more blood and
oxygen not just to the muscles but to all the organs—including the brain. Many
experiments have shown that after or during exercise, even very mild exertion,
people perform better on tests of memory and attention. Walking on a regular
basis also promotes new connections between brain cells, staves off the usual
withering of brain tissue that comes with age, increases the volume of the
hippocampus (a brain region crucial for memory), and elevates levels of
molecules that both stimulate the growth of new neurons and transmit messages
between them."_

New neurons. The next line about walking being easy tells me you live in a
flat area with no obstacles.

 _" A small but growing collection of studies suggests that spending time in
green spaces—gardens, parks, forests—can rejuvenate the mental resources that
man-made environments deplete."_

Uneven ground. I always look for uneven ground. Walking on concrete, man-made
paths is the equivalent of looking at brick walls.

~~~
Broken_Hippo
_" The next line about walking being easy tells me you live in a flat area
with no obstacles."_

But it is pretty easy once you get muscle built up and get used to the
obstacles. I live in a mountainous area. I climb a fence daily and go over a
bit of land with no concrete path - though admittedly everyday walking is on
concrete most times. Going out into the countryside doesn't make it any more
difficult.

~~~
24gttghh
I actually find it more difficult to walk on flat concrete than walking on a
trail with rocks and roots and leaves. I weave all over the place because
there is nothing to keep my attention to where my feet are being planted.

------
biztos
This may be today's least original comment, but I've recently discovered the
magic combination of podcast and treadmill. (I knew them both, separately, for
a long time already.)

In addition to helping make 30 minutes of sweating go by much faster, I find
it almost always generates a bunch of ideas. Like a little brainstorming walk,
if you will, but all-weather and easier to schedule.

My current favorite podcast for this is the Andreessen Horowitz "a16z
podcast."

[http://a16z.com/podcasts/](http://a16z.com/podcasts/)

~~~
realharo
It also works with audiobooks. It's especially great if you can't find the
time to read books the traditional way.

~~~
bendavis381
Audible 2x during any walk or mindless activity means you can easily get
through a book a week without any lifestyle changes. Literally has changed me
life.

~~~
dexterdog
I do all of my podcast from 2-2.4x depending on the speaker. Silence skipping
gets it to an effective 3x speed. Most people hear me listening for brief
periods and wonder how I understand any of it. It's a progression to get
there, but it is totally doable. I'm sure some people can go faster, but I
just tell them to go up .1x at a time until it sounds right.

~~~
vram22
Interesting. How do you change the speed, via software? I use VLC Player and
it only seems to have a few speed settings.

~~~
emilga
I use Smart AudioBook Player for Android. It has adjustable playback speed
from 0.5x to 2.5x in 0.1x increments.

~~~
vram22
Will check it out, thanks.

------
kazinator
Walking helps us think only if we don't bring any modern distraction such as a
mobile device. The main advantage of walking with regard to thinking is that
we are away from such things and also away from people. Anyone who wants to
get a hold of us to distract our thinking first has to figure out where we are
and then track us down on foot. Experience shows that this doesn't happen,
unless it's a very, very urgent matter.

Walking helps with difficult problems in coding and design. It helps because
often when you get a bad idea that doesn't work, and you think it's actually a
great idea, you still have twenty minutes left to walk. If you were sitting at
the machine, you would be saying, "Eureka!" and coding the bad idea. If you're
walking, you'd like to code the idea, but you can't; not yet. So you keep
juggling the idea in your mind for the remainder of the walk, by which time
you figure out that it was wrong.

If you get into a mode where you're just trying ideas to see what works, and
in the given situation that approach isn't working well (however well it might
work at other times) walking will physically remove you from that and break
the pattern.

~~~
betenoire
I bet walking helped humans solve problems long before distracting gadgets
existed.

------
dmitripopov
My physician strongly recommended me to walk at least 10 000 steps every day.
I prefer to walk fast and for a long distance, it gives me a really huge
productivity boost. However I try not to think about work during my walks, it
is more effective for me. When I get back to solving problems after a walk I
get an enlightment almost all the time.

~~~
Tenhundfeld
Random question here. How long does it take you to walk 10k steps?

I've fallen out of the habit lately, but I was hitting the 10k target for a
while. I have a sedentary desk job. So chores and playing with my kid got me
up to about 3k. Then I'd walk for an hour during lunch to get another ~7k
steps. Walking for an hour every day is fairly substantial commitment. I mean,
it felt worth it. As you said, it's a huge productivity boost. I'm probably
more productive walking 1 hour and working 7, rather than working a sedentary
8. It's not always easy to make that time in your day though.

I added the backstory, because I'm not questioning the value of the habit. I'm
just always curious how much time people are devoting to walking when they
talk about 10k steps.

~~~
soreasan
Every mile is roughly 2000 steps depending on how long your stride is. 10K
steps is roughly 5 miles. Depending on how fast you walk you're probably
looking at around 90 minutes to 120 minutes per day of walking. Of course you
could dramatically reduce that time if you ran or jogged rather than walked.

~~~
Tenhundfeld
Cool, yeah, when I hit 7k in an hour, I'm not exactly speed-walking, but I'm
not just ambling along either. I'd describe as walking with a purpose. Jogging
or running for very long hurts my knees, likely because I'm overweight. Maybe
one day.

------
RichardHeart
Whenever I'm learning things when walking, the location an idea popped into my
head is pretty much never forgotten. I'm not sure whether its actually
valuable, but it feels like it makes the ideas unforgettable. I'm going to
assume the value is real because:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci)

I think consuming some portion of your subconscious with repetitive activity
frees up some blocking on your conscious thought, so that you can stay engaged
on an idea for longer. It's like your normal boredom/frustration loop gets
muted by the repetitive behavior (music, movies in background, walking,
fidgeting, etc.)

Sometimes having other things going on makes deep work easier, sometimes it
makes it harder. I've noticed it's good to test both, and oscillate.

~~~
jasonl99
I think you're right. I run basically the same route every time (varying
distances a bit), through a county park that's literally down the same
sidewalk where I live. I also listen to the same six or seven songs, changing
a few of them every month or two. Most people who know this is my routine
think this must be unimaginably boring.

But within a couple minutes, I don't even notice, and I'm just letting my mind
drift, sometimes to the extent that I've overshot my turnaround spot by more
than a mile just from a lack paying attention

Having experienced this, I can't imagine now going back to the "old way" where
I have random songs that differ every time, or different routes that require
me to pay attention.

I've often thought the repetitive nature of the same route and the same music
actually encourages the metal drift.

~~~
Kluny
Hmm, interesting point about listening to the same songs every time. I used to
have youtube on shuffle as my go-to work music, but eventually a bad song
would come on and snap me out of concentration. I found that a few songs and
albums worked well for me, and I could just leave them on repeat. "See you
again" by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth is the one I feel weirdest about. It's
so cheesy and poppy, and I'll listen to it for hours at a time.

------
matthewwiese
Great read. Thanks for the link.

I often get the same energized writing vibe after a run. Though unlike the
article emphasizes near the end, my 5 mile daily run is preplanned (obviously)
and so leaves my brain able to effectively "dissociate" and enter that realm
of creative thinking that often precedes our falling asleep. After the first
couple miles, my body gets into the groove and I'm able to either serenely
absorb my surroundings -- the geese and their Spring young, say -- or float
around in that gooey reality between daydreaming and acting.

Steve Jobs was a particularly notable "hacker type" who enjoyed walks. So
besides the article's writer bent, I'd say idle physical activity is a good
choice for those who just want to _think_.

~~~
jwdunne
Not at all particular to writing. I believe Einstein went on frequent walks
too.

A walk through a park or a country path would be even better: greenery and
nature has shown to boost creativity in some studies.

~~~
hinkley
Greenery boosts mood. Elevated mood makes you more optimistic about your crazy
ideas. Some of your crazy ideas aren't so crazy.

------
yoandy
I used to go to Work every day by walking around 2 Km, without doubt it helps
a lot to arrive work clear minded and in good mood. I think is even better
when you walk in group and you talk to the others.

~~~
posterboy
chances are you were in a good and balanced mood to begin with, because you
didn't have to rush and take a quicker alternative.

I used to run part of the way to school because I was notoriously late. At the
end of the year I aced the gym class mile run, but overall my unreliability
caused much concern in other topics. I maintained for a time that exercise is
vital for a healthy mind, but because I didn't exercise on purpose, I couldn't
take advantage of it.

------
0xFFC
Sorry I didn't have time to read completely, I will read this when I have free
time.

But I wanted to mention this is completely reverse for me. Over the years I
have found my body and mind are complete opposite side of each other. I have
to complete stay moveless, and when I stay moveless for awhile that's when my
mind will work at its extreme capacity. Moving, Walking, Talking, Writing,
everything is kinda distraction from my deepest mind state, and I need that
state when I study Math especially the hard/analytical problems. I call that
deep state, ZEN. I wish I could be in that state everywhere and every day.

~~~
bootload
_" I have to complete stay moveless, and when I stay moveless for awhile
that's when my mind will work at its extreme capacity."_

Two different types of thinking. Focused thinking where all your memory slots
are consciously controlled. Un-focused thinking (diffused mode) where random
connections between different ideas are made. [0] The unfocused thinking is
where you get the ^aha^ moment. So yes I'd reckon every
programmer/hacker/scientist/mathematician is pretty much doing what you
describe.

[0] Barbara Oakley, PhD, PE., _" Focused and diffuse modes of thinking- a
brief on how it functions"_ ~
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzjsk5e7srI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzjsk5e7srI)

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3131s
For any distance that takes less than 30 minutes, I almost always walk. For
longer distances I ride a bike. Typically I'm walking to go exercise, and I
find it to be the perfect warmup for that. I also find that it really helps my
muscles recover the next day after a workout as well.

------
nemo1618
Another possibility: walking is a means of seeding your brain's RNG with new
entropy. That would explain why some sedentary activities (like driving to
work or fiddling with a toy) can help you think too.

~~~
gnaritas
I don't know if that's at all true, but I sure like that idea.

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seanalltogether
So why does taking a shower help us think? Or driving a car on the highway to
work? It has to be more then just getting blood moving?

~~~
coldtea
> _It has to be more then just getting blood moving?_

Why?

~~~
hueving
Because driving doesn't.

~~~
coldtea
Driving is still being seated and not doing much (even less so with automatic
gears). Not a very active, err, activity, so why would it "get the blood
moving" that much?

I may state the obvious, but it's about the blood moving inside the body and
to the brain and such, not about mere movement of blood, body and all along
with the vehicle to some destination.

------
goodjam
I love this friendly jab at Flaubert from Nietzsche “On ne peut penser et
écrire qu’assis - One cannot think and write except when seated (G. Flaubert).
There I have caught you, nihilist! The sedentary life is the very sin against
the Holy Spirit. Only thoughts reached by walking have value.”

------
hownottowrite
If you like this article you should probably read, Frédéric Gros' A Philosophy
of Walking [0]. His book came out in 2014 and inspired a brief flurry of
articles focused on the more esoteric effects of taking a stroll.

[0] - [https://www.versobooks.com/books/1865-a-philosophy-of-
walkin...](https://www.versobooks.com/books/1865-a-philosophy-of-walking)

~~~
henrik_w
The link doesn't work (missing a b), but this one does:

[https://www.versobooks.com/books/1865-a-philosophy-of-
walkin...](https://www.versobooks.com/books/1865-a-philosophy-of-walking)

~~~
hownottowrite
Corrected. Very odd that b went missing - thanks!

~~~
ycombinete
>missing

*Walking

------
iplaw
Do these benefits translate to other outdoor activities? Jogging, cycling,
etc.?

I seem to achieve this sort of mental clarity when I'm on an open-ended
recovery ride. Training days, however, are probably too regimented and my
focus is solely on hitting and/or exceeding the targets set by my coach.

~~~
H1Supreme
I'd say so. A 20 mile ride (and a short nap) is my go-to way to get back into
a project I'm stuck on.

------
bdamm
"A small but growing collection of studies suggests that spending time in
green spaces—gardens, parks, forests—can rejuvenate the mental resources that
man-made environments deplete."

Does this explain why it seems all great cities have large walkable parks near
their core downtown areas and near any areas considered to be more livable? It
isn't the park, per se, but perhaps the ability to find walkable conduits that
can be ambled without concern for bodily harm.

When I move to a new place one of the first things I do is locate the longest
walkable circuit that does not involve busy intersections where waiting is
required.

------
keithpeter
Chris Arthur is a good writer for the walking if you liked the literary aspect
of the OA.

[http://www.chrisarthur.org/](http://www.chrisarthur.org/)

The _Irish Nocturnes_ essay Meditation on Walking used to be online.
Fortunately, the Way Back Machine has it.

[http://web.archive.org/web/20010413013113/http://www.richmon...](http://web.archive.org/web/20010413013113/http://www.richmondreview.co.uk:80/library/arthur01.html)

[The _Richmond Review_ was a nice early Web based literary magazine]

------
agentgt
For those that want to perhaps burn more calories or for whatever reason want
to make it more challenging I recommend rucking.

That is take a backpack and put like 35 pounds in it.

I highly recommend it.

~~~
coldtea
How does that work for back health? Sounds something that will cause extra
strain in an unstructured way.

~~~
repeek
Rucking is more than dropping a kettlebell in a JanSport -- you will want a
rucksack that is designed to properly support a balanced load on your back.

I recently picked up a GoRuck GR1 [0] -- it's an amazing bag for everyday use.
They also sell weighted ruck plates that fit the rucks and keep the load close
to your body.

[0] [http://www.goruck.com/gr1-explained](http://www.goruck.com/gr1-explained)

~~~
astrostl
Had never heard of this. Walk (and podcast) all the time for light exercise.
Just ordered a GoRuck GR1, Field Pocket, and 20 LB plate. Thanks!

------
visakanv
This is part of why I'm very excited for VR. Our system of navigating the web
as pages on screens is incredibly limited. Once we can navigate content in
space (think video games – you could still drop me anywhere in Grand Theft
Auto: Vice City and I'd be able to navigate to any other point on the map from
memory), we'll open up all sorts of interesting new possibilities.

------
Nomentatus
Our legs and arms are pumps, as we all learned in high school, with valves in
the blood vessels that facilitate that function.

------
david927
I always thought part of the power of walking was that it was a form of
bilateral stimulation, such as found in EMDR therapy.

------
adultSwim
Highly recommend _Wanderlust_ by Rebecca Solnit. In it she explores the
intersection between walking and thinking.

------
mdevere
why are these articles always so pointlessly long. who wants to read all this
meandering tangential bullshit when it can be distilled down into two
paragraphs at most.

~~~
colmvp
With all due respect, it's important to know your audience.

When subscribers read the New Yorker, they usually expect to have lengthy
articles. There are plenty of bite sized, 30 second articles available
practically everywhere on the internet.

------
ivwdbwib
I love walking

