This content has been automatically translated from Ukrainian.
Sometimes you argue with someone, and on the way home or in the evening you start thinking — «If I said this then! It would be both witty and convincing!» But the moment has already disappeared, the opponent has left, the scene is closed. And only in your head is an alternative version of the conversation played out, in which you are brilliant and invincible.
This familiar state has a good French name — l'esprit de l'escalier. Translated by — «wit on the stairs» or «spirit stairs».
What is it?
It is a phenomenon where an apt thought, a perfect argument or a witty line comes to us only after the moment has already passed. We're already out of the room, down the stairs or on the tram, and the brain — is a kind of screenwriter — suddenly tossing the perfect answer. Usually — is too late.
The term was introduced by the French philosopher Denis Diderot in the 18th century. He described how once at a dinner party he could not answer a sharp comment, and when he went down the stairs, he remembered the perfect line. Actually, this is how this beautiful metaphor was born.
Why does this happen?
When we are at the center of a conflict or discussion, the brain is busy emotionally processing — stress, tension, desire «to win». Then it is more difficult to find a brilliant idea or formulation. But as soon as the situation passes and emotions subside, — rational areas of the brain are activated, and «thoughts are aligned».
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