Most games we know were made by whim - just think, where must the story of Italian plumbers falling down the toilet into a world of upright talking turtles originate? Does that mean that mind-wandering is a good thing to do?

Anyway (where were we?), researchers are still trying to make developments on this phenomenon of mind-wandering in humans. A study made by psychologist Michael Kane from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro sampled the thoughts of students at eight random times a day for a week. On the average, the subjects were not thinking about what they were doing 30 to 40 percent of the time.

Kane thinks that mind-wandering could sometimes be helpful. Daydreaming is a mechanism that the brain is hardwired to do whenever it is idle. The usual mind-wandering activities that the mind engages in, such as pre-planning, or problem-solving, are often excellent uses of a person's idle-brain time.

Then again, as in the case of a California professor who forgot that he left his 10-month old baby in the car (the baby later died), mind-wandering could be harmful. We think, a wandering mind may be good or bad, but we just can't help it: the brain wanders simply because it can.

Scientists are hopeful that they would discover more about the phenomenon of mind-wandering. Knowledge on it may greatly help students to focus on their lectures, drivers to keep their minds on the road, and the likes. Understanding about it may also help us understand and possibly aid those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).