“Alternative” Theory: Flow is Expertise Plus Letting Go

An alternative theory of creative flow is that through years of intense practice, the brain develops a specialized network or circuit to automatically produce a specific type of ideas, with little conscious effort. In this view, the executive control network relaxes its supervision so that the person can “let go” and allow this specialized circuit to go on “autopilot” without interference. The key to this notion is the idea that people who do not have extensive experience at a task or who have difficulty releasing control will be less likely to experience deep creative flow.