quote:

Then two Chicago historians on a visit to a museum in Berlin this fall had an "aha!" moment.
(from article cited in our "Old Telescopes" thread)

Have you ever heard the term aha! moment? It isn't in any of one-look's dictionaries, but it gets plenty of ghits and I thought it was a familiar term. Should the dictionaries have it?

I would probably say, "had a Eureka!", although this is somewhat abusive. Another possibility is "a lightbulb went off".

As I said in the other thread, "epiphany" fits the bill for me.

I've heard and read it. It's a rather transparent term.

I can't say it for certain, but I believe Oprah Winfrey may have coined the term "lightbulb moment." On her show, several years ago, was the first time I heard it.

My colleague John Y. Park uses the term epiphanette for a significant but not life-changing insight.

I like "lightbulb moment" for things like great inventions or discoveries. You could hardly say "epiphany" for those moments.

You also hear people talk about something clicking for them.

quote:

I can't say it for certain, but I believe Oprah Winfrey may have coined the term "lightbulb moment." On her show, several years ago, was the first time I heard it.

I'd never heard the term, but that's my ignorance. A google search shows that it's quite commonly used. I like it!

Coincidently, I just saw the phrase eureka moment in the paper. A quick google shows that that phrase is quite common, the top hit being from the Times. (I give the link for those who want the science, modestly noting that the research occurred in my home town.)

The secret of the "eureka moment", when a flash of inspiration suddenly resolves a tricky problem, has been explained by scientists for the first time.

The "light bulb" or "aha!" experience, in which an answer seems to appear from thin air, relies on a very different method of thinking from standard problem- solving, according to research in the United States.
– Times, April 13, 2004

I like them all. I'm stealing "epiphanette" because I love it.

I only wish I had more of them!

quote:

I like them all. I'm stealing "epiphanette" because I love it.

Woohoo! So do I.