?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=How+to+think+what+no+one+has+ever+thought+before&rft.creator=Calvin%2C+William+H&rft.subject=Sociobiology&rft.description=The+short+answer+is+to+take+a+nap+and+dream+about+something.+Our+dreams+are+full+of+originality.+Their+elements+are+all+old+things%2C+our+memories+of+the+past%2C+but+the+combinations+are+original.+Combinations+make+up+in+variety+what+they+lack+in+quality%2C+as+when+we+dream+about+Socrates+driving+a+bus+in+Brooklyn+and+talking+to+Joan+of+Arc+about+baseball.+Our+dreams+get+time%2C+place%2C+and+people+all+mixed+up.%0A%0AAwake%2C+we+have+a+stream+of+consciousness%2C+also+containing+a+lot+of+mistakes.+But+we+can+quickly+correct+those+mistakes%2C+usually+before+speaking+out+loud.+We+can+improve+the+sentence%2C+even+as+we+are+speaking+it.+Indeed%2C+most+of+the+sentences+we+speak+are+ones+we've+never+spoken+before.+We+construct+them+on+the+spot.+But+how+do+we+do+it%2C+when+we+say+something+we've+never+said+before+-+and+it+doesn't+come+out+as+garbled+as+our+dreams%3F%0A%0AWe+also+forecast+the+future+in+a+way+that+no+other+animal+can+do.+Since+it+hasn't+happened+yet%2C+we+have+to+imagine+what+might+happen.+We+often+preempt+the+future+by+taking+actions+to+head+off+what+will+otherwise+happen.+We+can+think+before+acting%2C+guessing+how+objects+or+people+might+react+to+a+proposed+course+of+action.%0A%0AThat+is+extraordinary+when+compared+to+all+other+animals.+It+even+takes+time+to+develop+in+children.+By+the+time+a+child+goes+to+school%2C+adults+start+expecting+them+to+be+responsible+for+predicting+the+consequences%3A+%22You+should+have+realized+that...%22+and+%22Think+before+you+do+something+like+that!%22+aren't+seriously+said+to+babies+and+most+preschoolers+-+or+our+pets.+We+don't+seriously+expect+our+dogs+and+cats+to+appraise+a+novel+situation%2C+like+a+fish+falling+out+of+the+refrigerator%2C+with+an+eye+toward+saving+it+for+the+dinner+guests+tonight.%0A&rft.publisher=William+Morrow+and+Co&rft.contributor=Brockman%2C+John&rft.contributor=Matson%2C+Katinka&rft.date=1995&rft.type=Book+Chapter&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=text%2Fhtml&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F3216%2F1%2F1995HowThingsAre.htm&rft.identifier=++Calvin%2C+William+H++(1995)+How+to+think+what+no+one+has+ever+thought+before.++%5BBook+Chapter%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F3216%2F