Friday, April 15, 2011

You know, those "Creative" types


I attempted to read an article today in Scientific American - alas, it is an online article, and I lack a subscription, and therefore cannot read more than the first page. However, it had this nice little summary on the side which I thought I would share here, since it's so relevant and all.

(Truthfully, I am just itching to read the rest. I think my in-laws have a subscription to that magazine. And if I'm wrong, I'm sure somewhere else on the internet they will either re-summarize it or re-post it eventually.)

Anyway, here we go - IN BRIEF:

In Brief

  • People who are highly creative often have odd thoughts and behaviors—and vice versa.
  • Both creativity and eccentricity may be the result of genetic variations that increase cognitive disinhibition—the brain’s failure to filter out extraneous information.
  • When unfiltered information reaches conscious awareness in the brains of people who are highly intelligent and can process this information without being overwhelmed, it may lead to exceptional insights and sensations.
You know, those "creative" types.
(Actually this was at Burning Man, but I couldn't find anything else more
appropriate to display my/my friends wackiness.
Photo courtesy of Laura Schetzsle.)

1 comment:

  1. I think that's partially the case. But also, what are 'odd' behaviors? psychology is such an immature science right now. Until 1980, homosexuality was a mental disorder, and transvestites fall under gender identity disorder even today. Psychology fails to account for cultural differences, as almost every disorder in psychology has been considered a blessing, or at least normal, in other cultures (psychosis and shamanism, social anxiety in Japan, homosexuality in Papua New Guinea, gender ambiguity in parts of India, etc). So I think another aspect of the creativity/eccentricity paradigm is being culturally disillusioned. I've generally found that type to be more tolerant of cultural differences, which is partly why I've gravitated in that direction.

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