Great wits are sure to madness near allied And thin partitions do their bounds divide. (John Dryden, 1681) There is no great genius without a tincture of madness. (Seneca, 1st Century A.D.)

1. Dr. S.Ghosh, DLIS, NBU
DUALITY OF MIND:
GENIUS OR LUNATIC

2. WISDOM OF THE
POETS
Great wits are sure to
madness near allied
And thin partitions do
their bounds divide.
(John Dryden, 1681)
There is no great genius
without a tincture of
madness.
(Seneca, 1st Century
A.D.)

3. ISAAC
NEWTON
Newton, one of the greatest scientists
ever, introduced the concept of gravity
and made major contributions to
mechanics, optics & mathematics.
Was intensely suspicious and
distrustful. In later life dabbled in
alchemy and sought hidden messages
in the Bible. Suffered mercury
poisoning? (Keynes, 2008)

4. NIKOLA
TESLA
Rivalled Edison as an inventor,
obtaining around 300 patents on radio and
electrical technology. Pioneer of AC current and
hydro-electric power.
Spoke 8 languages and had a
photographic memory.
Claimed to be in communication
with other planets and to have invented “death
rays”. Various bizarre OCD symptoms. Celibate
& reclusive. Slept for two hours/night.

5. A
BEAUTIFUL
MIND
John Nash - Nobel prize winning
mathematician. Developed game theory as
applied to social sciences.
Experienced paranoid delusions.
Hospitalised involuntarily & had to feign sanity
to get discharged.
I wouldn’t have had such good
scientific ideas if I had thought more normally.

6. GALILEO
Whether one is recognised as a
genius or seen as crazy depends
partly on cultural context.
To the Counter-Reformation
Church, Galileo was dangerously
heretical because his observations
supported a heliocentric theory of
the planets.
In other times and places
Picasso and Einstein might have
been committed to an insane
asylum rather than revered for
their originality.
Galileo faced a Vatican Inquisition
in 1633. His ideas were declared
“foolish and absurd” and he was
sentenced to house arrest for life.
The ban on his writings remained
until 1835. He was vindicated by
Pope John Paul II in 1992 and an
apology was issued in 2000.

7. BEHAVIOUR
GENETICS
Evidence for a genius-madness
link comes from fact that close relatives
of creative people have higher rates of
schizophrenia, and vice versa (psychotics
have more creative relatives).
(Simonton, 2005)
I have been surprised at finding how
often insanity or idiocy has appeared
among the near relatives of exceptionally
able people (Francis Galton, Hereditary
Genius, 1892)
====================
Einstein’s schizophrenic son (Eduard)

8. TROUBLED
AUTHORS
Mental disorder is more common
in close relatives of creative
people than in creatives
themselves. Actual illness usually
impedes creative success.
Exception is writers, who
themselves have high rates of
many disorders, including
schizophrenia, mood disorders,
anxiety, alcoholism, drug abuse
and suicide.
(Kyaga et al, 2012).
Virginia Woolf suffered severe
depressive episodes, finally
drowning herself in the River
Ouse.

9. “CRADLES
OF
EMINENCE”
Childhood trauma and orphan
status are more common in
high achievers (Goetzel et al,
2004). Such experiences may
be motivating and
inspirational, while also
inducing mental illness.
But wealth is more frequent
than poverty in families of
famous and ill-treatment may
be genetically linked.
Charles Dickens’ father was in
debtors’ prison so he left
school early to work in a
factory (c.f., themes of child
maltreatment and social
reform).

10. BIZARRE &
GRANDIOSE
Certain traits
and thought processes
are shared by genius
and madman. Ideas are
novel, unconventional
and grandiose. Usually
workaholic, ambitious,
narcissistic & self-
promoting.
Various genes
and neurotransmitters
implicated: including
testosterone, a growth
factor called
neuregulin (NRG1),
and genes modulating
dopamine in the brain
(DARPP-32).

11. PERSONALITY
& CREATIVITY
Genius goes with high IQ
& Psychoticism (P):
includes novelty-seeking,
risk-taking,
impulsiveness, non-
conformity, self-
confidence & work-
addiction. Associated with
high dopamine &
testosterone (Eysenck,
1995).
Possessing some
indicators of schizotypy
promotes creative
achievement but not full-
blown schizophrenia.
(Kuszewki, 2009)

12. LOOSE
ASSOCIATIONS
Schizophrenic thinking is characterised
by loose associations – “thinking outside the
box”. e.g., Unusual responses on Word
Association test;
Dali’s surrealistic designs.
Flashcards are used in “brain-storming” sessions
to force fresh ideas. Great artists/scientists
usually seen as “rebels” in their field.

13. OVER INCLUSIVE
THINKING
Schizophrenics
and “manic” persons
often set boundaries of
relevance too broadly.
c.f., great
thinkers who come up
with “grand
unifications”.
To most people
there is no connection
between an apple
falling off a tree and
the motion of planets.
Newton (1665) was
able to connect them
with concept of
gravity.
Newton’s
apple tree at
Woolsthorpe Manor,
Lincs

14. APOPHENIA
Human tendency to see meaningful patterns where they do not
exist. Underlies superstition, belief in paranormal, seeing ghosts,
UFOs, miracles, conspiracies, hearing “voices” etc.
Apophenia is exaggerated in schizotypal persons and increased
by dopamine. May contribute to both creativity and madness.
Face on Mars (captured by Viking 1, 1976).

15. BIPOLAR
MOOD
DISORDER
Off the wall comedian Paul Merton among many creative
performers treated for mood disorder.
Merton also displayed certain psychotic symptoms such as
hearing voices and believing he was targeted by Freemasons.
His freestyle comedy style seems to benefit from “loose
associations” (c.f., Spike Milligan).

16. THE
AUTISTIC
SPECTRUM
Asperger’s Syndrome (deficient social
communication) has been posthumously
assigned to many geniuses, including
Michelangelo, Mozart, Newton,
Wittgenstein, Marie Curie and Einstein.
Another way of saying they were
slightly odd or schizotypal?
Michelangelo was melancholic,
abstemious, work-obsessed, solitary and
lacking social skills.

17. ARTISTIC
MADNESS?
Louis Wain was a
trained artist,
hospitalised for
schizophrenia in 1924.
His trademark cats
began as funny and
whimsical (to entertain
ailing wife); became
progressively abstract
and kaleidoscopic (even
scary).
May actually have
suffered from Asperger’s
or Toxoplasmosis (a
parasite that can be
caught from cats).

18. CREATIVES
APPEAR
SEMI-
PSYCHOTIC
MMPI profiles of creative artists
are on a continuum towards
psychosis (similar profiles, but less
extreme).
(Simonton, 2005)
Survival of genes for
madness down to association with
creativity? Helps to be slightly mad.

19. INSIGHT
AND
CONTROL
Lucia Joyce (daughter of novelist James Joyce)
showed early talent as a modern dancer but
became aggressive and self-destructive and was
eventually committed to an asylum.
Joyce doubted she could be schizophrenic
because her thought patterns were similar to his
own. Jung (who was treating her) said father
and daughter were like two people who had
arrived at the bottom of the river: “James had
dived there, whereas Lucia had fallen in”.

20. CONTACT
WITH
REALITY
Prime marker of sanity.
Salvador Dali was a talented
painter whose surrealism seemed
inspired by madness.
However, he retained self-insight:
Metamorphosis of
Narcissus, 1937

21. One difference between a Madman
and Me.
The Madman thinks he is Sane,
whereas I know that I am
Mad.(Dali)
YOU FOLKS!!!
Friday, May 22, 2020 sghoshnbu 21