Have you ever felt stuck while solving a problem? That frustrating feeling of hitting a mental wall is called an impasse. But what if these moments of feeling stuck are more than just obstacles? In recent work published in Cognition, researchers Wendy Ross and Selene Arfini find that these impasses play a crucial role in problem-solving, especially when they lead to sudden moments of insight—those “aha!” breakthroughs. They argue that understanding when and how people feel stuck can shed light on cognitive processes that are essential not only for solving puzzles but for learning and innovatio…