Creative Crazy

http://techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=181859&start=0

I found this discussion on TechRepublic, and I believe it warrants some thought. It ties in with the following article:

http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/050907_schizotype_creative.html

In order to come up with new ideas a creative person has to venture into the unknown, which in all essence, is the path to insanity. We must see the world in a different way otherwise new ideas would not be found. Thereby our interaction with the real world is strained to say the least since one foot is always in the creative beyond. With our attentions always thus distracted, we cannot help but be seemingly dazed or "not with it" in the real world.

If indeed we are using more of our brain than the average person, it makes you wonder what we would be capable of if we were able to use so much more of our brain, and at a balance between the two hemispheres. Sci-Fi tends to depict highly intelligent and psychic people and outer-worldly races to have uncommonly large brains. But, is it really necessary to have that much more gray matter? We currently use such a small percentage of our brains, that it leaves open the probability that greater abilities may come with greater usage. If greater creativity is created with greater usage of the right side, what would come of using a similar percentage of the left as well? If someone were able to have an equal balance between left and right AND use a larger percentage of both sides, what would they be capable of? It is unknown, but not unfathomable.

To this day the brain still has many mysteries. So I don’t think it’s unreal to believe in the possibility of psychic powers. And to clarify, when I say psychic powers I don’t mean horoscopes or fortune tellers, I mean things like empathy, telekinesis, pyrokinesis and the ability to see invisible forces around us (which may or may not include departed spirits and/or the power to see events in the future). Has anyone found a true psychic or medium and tried this test on them? I’d be curious to see the results and how much brain they used.

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It is also interesting how creativity is linked to technology. I had no idea I was good with technology until I started working in the officeplace. But growing up I was considered highly creative and artistic. I dabbled in many crafting skills and created sculptures and other artworks. I never thought I'd be doing IT because I considered that to be a more mathematical type position, and I hated math (although I did make it all the way to Calculus before giving up on math).

Then when I started working, I found I had a knack for fixing machines, computers, phones and other techie stuff. And I enjoyed it! (and I must say to this day I still don’t see how algebra fits into my line of work). Thus started a career in administration, IS and IT.

So in reality tech work is an artform. One, because you have to build solutions or networks, which involves imagination as well as logic and creativity. And two, because working with technology also involves problem solving on an almost constant basis. Problem solving is best done when thinking outside of the box, and perhaps, means using more of your brain than the average person. So it is no surprise to me that techies tend to be a little eccentric. We probably are using more of our creative brains and therefore have a different perception of the world.

And as for geniuses, everyone pretty much knows that they are using more of their brains. But which side? There are creative geniuses such as Frank Lloyd Wright and then there are more technical/mathematical geniuses like Albert Einstein. Going on basic assumptions, Wright probably used more of his right side while Einstein more of the left. But does that mean Einstein was also borderline crazy? Perhaps not schizophrenic, since that has shown to be a more right brain thing, but another kind of crazy? I’d like to see continued research on this stuff.