[New Word Dictionary] Brain Fade - Recharging by Spacing Out

The DMN (default mode network), discovered by Professor Marcus Raichle of the Department of Neurology at Washington University in the United States, is a specific area of the brain that activates when a person is not engaged in any cognitive activity. This finding supports the claim that the brain needs to rest for human creativity to develop. Photo by Washington University School

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] In 2001, Professor Marcus Raichle of the Department of Neurology at the University of Washington in the United States captured a fascinating phenomenon during brain science research. He discovered a specific area that activates when an experimenter wearing brain imaging equipment was not engaged in any cognitive activity. Professor Raichle named this area the DMN (default mode network), and since then, various studies on the DMN have been conducted worldwide. A research team from Tohoku University in Japan measured brain blood flow in a state of no cognitive activity and confirmed increased white matter activity in the DMN. Participants with increased white matter activity submitted new ideas more quickly than those performing cognitive tasks on the same problem. This supported the fact that increased white matter activity when the brain is at rest helps human creativity.

'Brain fade' is a compound word of brain and fade, referring to a state where the head suddenly feels dizzy and blank when one remains focused on something for a prolonged period. It is similar to the Korean expression 'meong ttaerigi' (spacing out). In Korean society, which values efficiency and results, spacing out was once dismissed as a waste of time, but with the importance of rest and leisure for survival and the implementation of the 52-hour workweek, the value of spacing out has begun to be recognized. In line with this trend, the spacing out competition, held since 2014, has become a popular event with a participation competition rate of 50:1. American novelist Christopher Morley praised spacing out in his essay collection "On Laziness," stating, "Only those who are truly, thoroughly, and philosophically lazy are thoroughly happy. Happy people benefit the world. This is an unavoidable conclusion." The 17th-century philosopher Ren? Descartes, who had a habit of sleeping late, once discovered the coordinate plane of the X and Y axes while lying in bed and watching a fly on the ceiling. When doing nothing, opportunities to gain something arise. This is why moments of spacing out are not wasted but times of accumulation.

Example

A: Hey, you stayed up all night yesterday, are you okay?
B: Yeah. I drank Red O, so my body is fine, but my head feels fuzzy.
A: That means your brain is spacing out. Brain fade. You need to take breaks from work sometimes.
B: Even if I rest, my boss doesn’t, that’s the problem.
A: Ah... You don’t need brain fade, you need boss fade.