I've noticed that various physical activities alter how I think.
Typing out comments in code prior to writing the code or tests (i.e. comment-driven development) helps me think better about what I want to do than simply sitting and musing inside my head. Maybe it's the typing, maybe it's being forced to actually find words for what I think I'm thinking.
Same goes for drawing stuff on a white board. The physical act of standing up, moving my arms, pacing around in front of the board, all seem to alter my thinking.
Finally, I seem to be better able to find stuff in my house if I move my fingers a lot while wandering around looking. Seems to help me focus.
Gestures obviously play a role in communicating
very simple concepts like "pay close attention",
"look at this", "stop a moment" or "hurry up" when
the speaker is playing the role of a guide.
However I strongly doubt they have a positive
correlation with deep understanding on the
audience's part. If anything I suspect they more
often serve to distract, confuse, misdirect or
supply a false sense of understanding. Consider
the antics of a stage magician whose gestures
are purposely deceptive.
A very explicit & clear observation: Playing Dumb charades: enact movie names or phrases. I find myself far more creative by the end of game. Out of the box thinking comes so naturally post that.
Typing out comments in code prior to writing the code or tests (i.e. comment-driven development) helps me think better about what I want to do than simply sitting and musing inside my head. Maybe it's the typing, maybe it's being forced to actually find words for what I think I'm thinking.
Same goes for drawing stuff on a white board. The physical act of standing up, moving my arms, pacing around in front of the board, all seem to alter my thinking.
Finally, I seem to be better able to find stuff in my house if I move my fingers a lot while wandering around looking. Seems to help me focus.