Madness Redefined: Creativity, Intelligence and the Dark Side of the Mind

[1:35:30]

The notion of a “tortured genius” or “mad scientist” may be more than a romantic aberration. Research shows that bipolar disorder and schizophrenia correlate with high creativity and intelligence, raising tantalizing questions: What role does environment play in the path to mental illness? Are so-called mental defects being positively selected for in the gene pool? Where’s the line between gift and deficit? As studies mount supporting the storied link between special aptitudes and mental illnesses, science is reexamining the shifting spectrum between brilliance and madness.

PARTICIPANTS: James Fallon, Kay Redfield Jamison, Susan McKeown, Elyn Saks
Original Program Date: May 31, 2012

Disordered Minds: Edgar Allen Poe, Virginia Woolf,
John Keats, Emily Dickinson 00:13

Cynthia McFadden’s Introduction. 4:55

Participant Introductions 6:15

Is there a scientific base to the madness and creativity link? 8:03

Spatial contrast and artistic frequencies. 12:08

Elyn Saks and her history of schizophrenia. 17:02

What has brain imaging shown us on the connection of madness and creativity. 24:54

Philosophers think what schizophrenics live. 32:27

James Fallon on the mental state of the criminal mind. 40:08

A CEO is 4 times more likely to be a sociopath. 48:32

Has the link to creativity changed the stereotypes of schizophrenia? 57:08

Most serial killers have had a past experiences that determine the present. 1:04:40

Can you recognize when your illness is in control and not you? 1:12:08

The medical model of understanding these illness. 1:18:49

[Source: World Science Festival YouTube link]