Pipe Smoking and Thinking

[smokesignal]

Greetings, everyone. This is my first post but I've been lurking and greatly enjoying the discussions here for the past month or two. Thank you all for posting. Your posts have taught me a great deal. I learned, for instance, that pipe smoking often leads to a greater sense of relaxation, which, indeed, it has for me. But there is one effect of pipe smoking which took me by surprise today.
On Friday I encountered a difficult problem at work. Our business seemed to be veering way off budget and it was my job to fix it. But there was no good way to get it back on track. I fretted over it on and off all weekend with no results. Then, after my lunch break today, I decided to light a bowl of Autumn Evening as I walked the seven blocks back to my office. Previously, the only form of thought stimulation available to me had been the activity of scratching at my beard. But now with a pipe to take out of my mouth and put back in again, and plumes of fragrant, white smoke to sip on, taste, and blow out my mouth it seemed as though a whole new landscape of human thought appeared before me.
A thought materialized which had eluded me all weekend. And that led to another thought, and then another, and within 4 blocks of walking and puffing I had a sneaking suspicion I might be able to fix the situation plaguing me at work after all. I dumped out my ashes, ran a pipe cleaner through my Peterson Briar and hurried back to my desk feeling energized. I ran through the numbers again with the taste of pipe smoke in my mouth and by mid afternoon we had worked out a new plan that was solidly within budget.
I'm convinced the tobacco pipe was the catalyst that got my brain moving. So, my questions: have any of you noticed similar links between pipe smoking and thinking? I believe a number of famous thinkers smoked pipes. Are there any good pipe smoking and thinking quotes out there?

 

[madmurdoc]

“I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgement in all human affairs.”

-Albert Einstein, 1950

 

[warren]

A despot or two also smoked pipes. Albert surely never met Joe. Although, now that I think about it, Joe surely out thought Franklin more than once. He conned Harry also. Might be some truth to your observation. Hmmmm, Winston used to send Joe pipes. I wonder . . . another wrinkle historians should surely study. Stalin, His Pipes and Yaltaan attention grabbing title, no?

 

[perdurabo]

A run could have done the same, yes, But I'm not running with a Guitar, Bass, Drums, and Piano on my back while trying to play one of them.

 

[beezer]

The most relaxing aspect of pipe smoking for me is the ability to sit and think, usually uninterrupted. My mind is constantly buzzing in thought about this or that and a pipe in hand helps me think through issues big or small more efficiently. Not sure of the reasons why, but it is so.
As perdurabo said, a run used to do much of the same for me; however, now that my body isn't in as prime shape as it once was now I find running more of a distraction as I'm constantly thinking about something on my body hurting instead of whatever the issue was.

 

[deathmetal]

I find it very conducive to hard problem reduction. I also like to walk, march and hike long distances, but a pipe is a different kind of mental calm.
Stalin... between him and Genghis, you can learn all you need to about how societies go bad. By rumor he smoked Royal Yacht, which in theory makes him more interesting, but it looks like he preferred Herzegovina Flor.

 

[jerwynn]

The pipe does the opposite for me... sort of a zen-like thing... it slows and eventually stops the flow of conscious "thinking" and allows complete dwelling in the present moment. No words, no thoughts... but radical "connection", unification, communion... whatever word works there. Often then, when I'm coming out of that sacred pipe time, thoughts, solutions, totally new perspectives show themselves! This is all one of the reasons I never do anything during pipe-time except smoke. If I smoked while I worked or drove or whatever, it wouldn't be the same for me. (I've tried it, and found myself wanting... also with strange molten-edged burns on my dress shirts, tobacco flecks in extremely unusual places, and near-falls trying to light or relight... like the soccer mom driving the minivan with 6 kids in back, talking on a cell phone held up to her ear whilst smoking a ciggy and sipping a bluudy starbucks.)

 

[jpmcwjr]

Smoke signal- What a fine first post, and thought provoking as well. I think I tend to smoking a bowl when I am primarily doing something else, be it walking the dogs, driving, gardening, watching TV or reading. I will try to make some times when the pipe is the sole focus of my wandering mind.
And welcome to the forum!

 

[macaroon]

A pipe can be a nice way to occupy some parts of your brain while others are free to work with less distraction. But like others have mentioned, many other simple activities could replace it with about the same effect: running, hiking, cleaning around the house, etc. are arguably more constructive options. The pipe is not anything special in that respect, but it is an enjoyable option nonetheless.

 

[deathmetal]

The pace of it reminds me of transcendental meditation at times.

 

[fafnir]

Yes this is so true, it deepens and sharpens my thought processes, being a intj personality type this is similar to playing chess three moves ahead.

 

[pipedreamin]

It's science...almost:
"...nicotine—[Redacted]—may prove to be a weirdly, improbably effective cognitive enhancer and treatment for relieving or preventing a variety of neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s, mild cognitive impairment, ADHD, Tourette’s, and schizophrenia."
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/will-a-nicotine-patch-make-you-smarter-excerpt/

 

[deathmetal]

Worth posting again:
http://www.gwern.net/Nicotine

 

[mso489]

A deliberate pause, perhaps some nicotine, a mild distraction, and a ritual relaxation. All of these play into rebooting your brain and allowing it to work. Our lives are almost designed to make our minds seize up and cease creative thought. In my former career, I used to walk around the campus lake at lunch, and inevitably during the walk I would remember all kinds of things that had dropped off my memory list. The other major forgotten resource, along these lines, is a night's sleep. Going without sleep to prove you are productive is, forgive me, extra stupid. The brain, like the kidneys, does some of its best work at night during sleep. So yes, a pipe will enhance problem solving. But don't use it to do that; just let it alone and it will work.

 

[cortezattic]

On occasion, as I smoke a bowl during which I hit that ineffable "sweet spot" of flavor, the pipe can actually be a distraction.

 

[deathmetal]

While Alexander was conquering Asia, Aristotle, now 50 years old, was in Athens. Just outside the city boundary, he established his own school in a gymnasium known as the Lyceum. He built a substantial library and gathered around him a group of brilliant research students, called “peripatetics” from the name of the cloister (peripatos) in which they walked and held their discussions. The Lyceum was not a private club like the Academy; many of the lectures there were open to the general public and given free of charge.
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Aristotle/The-Lyceum#ref408181