One way we can enliven the imagination is to push it toward the illogical. We’re not scientists. We don’t always have to make the logical, reasonable leap.

Adler is urging actors (and artists generally) to resist the reflex to justify every choice with tidy logic. For her, imagination is not a decorative add-on but the engine of truthful performance: it must be exercised by venturing beyond the merely plausible into surprising, “illogical” associations that can unlock richer behavior. The point is not to abandon craft or coherence, but to remember that art is not a scientific proof. Onstage, an unexpected inner leap—an image, metaphor, or contradiction—can produce a more vivid, human truth than a strictly reasonable explanation. The quote encapsulates Adler’s emphasis on bold imaginative action over narrow psychological rationalization.