
Creative minds: the links between mental illness and creativity - hko
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/features/creative-minds-the-links-between-mental-illness-and-creativity-1678929.html
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10ren
To _see_ something that does not exist (and then create it) is surely out of
touch with reality, and a form of psychosis.

 _The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress
depends on the unreasonable man._ George Bernard Shaw

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timr
I hate that quote. It makes "progress" seem inevitably adversarial, when in
fact, most of the things that we see as "progress" in the world are
evolutionary phenomena -- adaptive by nature.

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10ren
I interpret the quote as applying to things I do, not to things I see; and as
difficulties in general, not necessarily adversarial.

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amichail
From the article: "Scientists were the least affected, while artists and
writers had increased diagnoses of psychosis."

My guess is that artists and writers are more creative than scientists due to
the randomness of a flawed brain.

But obviously we can get randomness from other sources such as computers. So
maybe normal brains in combination with computers can be creative too.

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UncleOxidant
However, it seems like doing science requires at least as much creativity as
writing or painting.

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amichail
There are different sorts of creativity.

Most mathematicians would probably not do very well in the open-ended
creativity of writing a novel say.

One type of creativity is goal driven (e.g., prove this theorem), while the
other not so much (e.g., write an interesting novel).

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Retric
How is "write an interesting novel" not a goal?

I was once a fairly talented writer, but coding is less effort and on average
better paying, so that's the path I chose. In the end I really don't see that
big of a difference in the creative process. Granted, once you focus on a
specific path for several years you change your relative strengths so it's
easy to confuse innate talent with effort.

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amichail
It's a very vague goal. Moreover, there is no such thing as a "wrong" novel.

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joecode
Well, there is: One that doesn't express your viewpoint well, for example. It
depends on precisely what you are trying to accomplish in writing it, of
course.

Mathematical proofs require a lot of creativivty, too. There are many
different ways to prove a given theorem, and it takes quite a bit of
imagination to come up with one.

I'd say the main difference is emotional. Being creative in the humanities
requires a certain emotional madness, which can be especially debilitating.
Scientists and mathematicians mostly just need to be obsessive, focused, and
good at ferreting out hard to recognize patterns.

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amichail
_I'd say the main difference is emotional._

What does that mean exactly and why does it not apply to mathematicians?

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joecode
Mathematicians typically deal with abstract problems that have no direct
relation to human feelings. Novelists, artists, and social scientists
typically do the opposite.

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pedalpete
The author states '. Evolutionary theory suggests that in order for them to be
still here, there must be some kind of survival advantage to them.'

However, if this were true, wouldn't that mean illnesses like Cancer would
also have a survival advantage?

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bazbarfoo
Well, cancer doesn't typically kill you before you're able to reproduce.

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cubix
Similarly, schizophrenia doesn't usually kick in until your early 20's for
males, and early 30's for females, which leaves plenty of time for
reproduction, especially in centuries past when we grew up faster.

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Evgeny
Now I have an important question. How should I properly take myself to the
brink of insanity in order to boost creativity and flexibility of thought?
Something to think about ...

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nop
Haven't a whole lot of ideas been attributed to drugs over the years? It would
seem like a effective starting point for insanity with the added benefit of
reverting to your sane old self when it's over. Or so I'd assume, I've never
done drugs (beyond caffeine, nicotine and alike).

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adrianwaj
Speaking of creativity - contact me to brainstorm a brand name, product name,
slogan or even strategy to a certain extent. No fee charged - a HN special.

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zandorg
Paranoia is a useful tool in business, according to Andy Grove of Intel. Don't
leave anything to chance!

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adrianwaj
Microsoft cultivated a culture of paranoia, I suppose that was about stomping
little startups, and executing a "reach and extend" on the ones they couldn't
do anything about.

