Madness and Creativity

“Sanity is boring, and true genius may be born, of mood swings, and mania”- Ian Murray.

 

Sandy is a brilliant writer who has won several accolades both in her country and abroad. Each night she plays host to an invisible dwarf, lovingly referred   to as ‘Theodore’. Sandy also hears voices regularly. She has christened them ‘angel’, ‘little boy’ and  ‘demon’ according to their timbre and tone. She holds forth brain- tickling conversations with Theodore and ‘the voices’. They provide Sandy with witty tit bits and prompt her to write more than she plans to!

Paying attention to details may be the benchmark of efficiency, but focusing on every footfall or dwelling on each syllable is likely to create mayhem in a person’s mind, leading to compulsions of the obsessive kind. It often interferes with an individual’s effort to live a normal life.

Man has survived all odds by ignoring what seems irrelevant to his immediate needs. This human trait, called by psychologists as ‘latent inhibition’, is intricately intertwined with survival instincts.  

Cats, rats, mice, pigeons, and various other animals too exhibit latent inhibition. Humans, however, have excelled at it. As the hallmark of success and sanity, latent inhibition has enabled man to sally forth in this bad, mad world. It is an indication of his adaptability, of his ability to retain what is good for him and ignore the rest.  But sadly, this seemingly significant trait has been discovered to stunt creativity.

Startling Studies

A team of Harvard researchers, including Shelley Carson, a psychologist, has discovered that students who scored low in latent inhibition have excellent creative skills compared to those who failed to pay attention to minor details.

These low scoring students also had a high level of IQ, indicating a correlation between intelligence and creativity.

Carson’s studies revealed that a decreased level of latent inhibition and extreme flexibility in their thinking abilities predisposed some individuals to mental illness, while bestowing creative skills in others.

Low levels of latent inhibition may be just one of the biological basis for creativity. Carson claims that there are a lot more factors, including personality traits, social setup, family, and training.

On the Creative Trail

So why is it that some people go nuts when their brain is overworked while others use the same to be more productive?

An overwhelming flurry of new information may predispose some individuals to mental illness. But there has to be some difference between Jack the Ripper and John Nash!

Creativity, according to Carson, comes in steps. The first step is getting an insight, when ideas take shape. These ideas may be further enhanced by a force of unrelated stimuli.

The next step is the evaluation and edition of the information availed. This is definitely the most crucial phase, as it requires tremendous focus.

High intelligence, and a commendable working memory, may help a person to creatively juggle information and use it to serve a higher purpose. Carson and colleagues are seeking to find out how the creative folks succeed in adjusting their attention filters, during the different stages.