Insanity and creativity more closer than you think

[escapee]

LiveScience.com - Fine Line Revealed Between Creativity and Insanity

Odd Behavior and Creativity May Go Hand-in-hand - Science - RedOrbit

New research on individuals with schizotypal personalities – people characterized by odd behavior and language but who are not psychotic or schizophrenic – offers the first neurological evidence that they are more creative than either normal or fully schizophrenic individuals, and rely more heavily on the right sides of their brains than the general population to access their creativity

"They may dress or carry themselves in a strange way," says Bradley Folley, a graduate student in clinical psychology at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and the lead author of the study. "They’re not abnormal, they live normal lives but they often have idiosyncratic ways of thinking. Certain things may have special meaning for them or they may be more spiritually attuned."

Oh, is this thread under the right section ?

[DarkSociologist]

The difference between genius and insanity is that one is one is accepted by society in general, while the other is rejected.

[Michael Chui]

Originally Posted by DarkSociologist

The difference between genius and insanity is that one is one is accepted by society in general, while the other is rejected.

Not quite. The difference is that genius is accepted by society... someday.

[Adrienne]

Originally Posted by Michael Chui

Not quite. The difference is that genius is accepted by society... someday.

Completely agreed!

New ideas can be rough on people...

Adrienne

[Baltar]

More specifically, mental illness and creativity are thought to be related. In fact, according to wikipedia, it's bipolar disorder that's most closely linked with creativity. I was pretty shocked to find out that many famous people have bipolar (a lot of them seem to be in the arts): Robin Williams, Jim Carey, Drew Carey, Axl Rose, Kurt Cobain, Francis Ford Coppola, Buzz Aldrin, Ted Turner. Another interesting thing about bipolar disorder is that people who have it are often very goal-oriented and driven to succeed. Coupled with talent and intelligence, this explains the huge list of high achievers who have bipolar.