John Paul M. Joaquin Tech 09.29.2023 03:Sep AM EDT

Google Launches Doodle Celebrating Mihály Csíkszentmihályi’s 89th Birthday

Google is celebrating the birthday of one of the most influential psychologists in human history.

The search giant recently published a doodle celebrating what would have been the 89th birthday of Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, a Hungarian-American psychologist who first coined the term "flow."

Google Chrome and Search users in the US, Brazil, Iceland, the UK, Germany, Austria, and Hungary can view the doodle for themselves.

Google's Doodle For Mihály Csíkszentmihályi

Google's Doodle for Csíkszentmihályi doesn't deviate much from the animated ones it usually designs. For Csíkszentmihályi's doodle, Google's doodle designers have the famous psychologist holding up an illuminated human brain with a stylized version of the Google logo.

The brain will then shine from its stem to the front until it reaches the "G" in Google. The effect will then illuminate the rest of the company's letters until it ends at the "E."

Google's doodle team, which is responsible for most of the spoofed versions of the company's logo, drafted three versions of this doodle before settling on the one it published.

The doodle will only be up for Google Search and Chrome users to see on Sept. 29. However, people can still view it online on Google's Doodle archive.

Csíkszentmihályi's Life, Works, And Contributions

Csíkszentmihályi was a prominent psychologist born on Sept. 29, 1934, in Fiume, Italy (now Rijeka, Croatia), per Google. He dedicated his life to studying human happiness, creativity, and the concept of "flow,"

He witnessed much of the effects of WWII on his homeland and dropped out of school to support his family through it. In time, the horrors he witnessed inspired him to dedicate his life to understanding the science of happiness.

During his studies, he found a lecture by the Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung, which pushed him to study psychology. His mind made up, he moved to the US to study psychology at the University of Chicago. His studies and works introduced the idea of flow, a state of complete absorption and focused attention in an activity.

He first realized the concept of flow during his graduate studies, when he saw that painters were so absorbed in their work, that they lost track of time and could work on their painting without eating, drinking, and even resting. Several of his interview subjects described their experiences through the metaphor of a water current, which led to the term psychological term "flow" as we know it today.

Csíkszentmihályi's research identified key components and benefits of flow, emphasizing that people are happiest in this state, per Very Well Mind. To better lay the foundation of his study, his research extended into education, business, and sports, where flow principles have been applied to enhance performance and well-being.

He served as the head of psychology departments at the University of Chicago and Claremont Graduate University and significantly contributed to the field of positive psychology. His books, "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" and "Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention," were influential in psychology. So much so that business leaders, presidents, and sports coaches praised its scientific insights into productivity and well-being.

Csíkszentmihályi died on Oct. 20, 2021, at 87 due to cardiac arrest, according to The New York Times. His legacy includes numerous awards, such as the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association.