# Prof. Melissa Schilling's research on cognitive insight is highlighted

1 Faculty News June 25, 2014 ![Scientific American logo](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/con_032572.jpg?itok=4s1fploC)>

Excerpt from [Scientific American](http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/2014/06/25/the-controlled-chaos-of-creativity/) -- "In [Melissa Schilling](http://www.stern.nyu.edu/faculty/bio/melissa-schilling)’s network model of cognitive insight, insight can be viewed as the emergence of clarity among a tangled web of thoughts and ideas. According to Schilling, cognitive insight occurs when an atypical association is made, resulting in a shortcut in a person’s network of semantic representations. Insight affects the organization of the entire network, causing a decrease in path length, a new perspective on the entire network, and a cascade of other connections to come online."

[Read more](http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/2014/06/25/the-controlled-chaos-of-creativity/)