He’s Nuts! No, He’s A Genius!
The title for this blog comes from the mouth of one of my favourite stand-up comedians, Rich Hall. (See him say those words live at the Apollo on YouTube from 6:31 to 7:40). They came to my mind as I read an article about how creative minds ‘mimic schizophrenia’. Apparently, high levels of creativity can be associated with mental illness and lead to it.
I’ve blogged before how I admire comedians as a creative type, and on the link between depression and humour. This is not a vague association. According to creativity expert Edward de Bono, there is a definite relationship between creative insight and humour.
“There is often an alternative way to arrange information. This means there can be a switchover to another arrangement. Usually the switch is sudden. If the switch is temporary it gives rise to humour. If the switch is permanent it gives rise to insight.”
But as we know, a disproportionately high percentage of comedians seem to suffer from depression. Add to this the stereotypes of the mad scientist and the tortured artist, and we’ve got a pattern.
In the 1990′s, Apple Computers encouraged us to Think Different. Many large groups within humanity already do. Among those groups who see the world differently from each other are:
- Westerners and Easterners
- Left-handers and Right-handers
- Introverts and Extroverts
- Religious and Secular
- Men and Women
I think a creative person is someone who narrows down this range of shared perspective on the world even further until they find themselves in a group of one. They see past the limits imposed by their upbringing, their environment, their education, and even their genes. They don’t just take up an opposing view, but shift their perspective to a different place entirely. Such a change requires herculean effort and leads to isolation. The structure of their brain is literally changed by it.
So see the world differently if you will. See the world differently if you can pay the price!
As Nietzsche said, “How much truth can a spirit bear, how much truth can a spirit dare?”
Image credit: pasukaru76.
