Track down a copy of An essay on the psychology of invention in the mathematical field by Jacques Hadamard. Hadamard was a mathematician, and he used 'introspec

Track down a copy of An essay on the psychology of invention in the mathematical field by Jacques Hadamard. Hadamard was a mathematician, and he used 'introspection' to explore the springs of his own creativity and those of colleagues he interviewed. The results are entertaining in a quaint sort of way, but your experience is not unusual at all in the mathematical world.