Deep problem loading is the intensive preparation phase of the creative process in which the problem to be solved is studied from every available angle, all relevant information is gathered and thoroughly processed, and the conscious mind works the problem as completely as possible before the incubation phase begins — with the quality of incubation being directly proportional to the thoroughness of the preceding preparation, since the unconscious can only process and connect material that the conscious mind has first loaded into the system.
Role
Deep problem loading is the prerequisite that prevents the misapplication of incubation — the mistake of expecting unconscious processing to do work that the conscious mind has not done first, producing the fallow incubation that generates no insights because there is nothing loaded for the unconscious to process. The consistent finding that insights arrive in proportion to prior preparation — that the person who has worked hardest on the problem is most likely to have the incubation insight — establishes that the romantic image of insight arriving without effort is misleading: the effort was done in the preparation phase, making the incubation phase feel effortless by comparison while being in fact the continuation of the work the preparation began.