It’s common knowledge that creatives can be eccentric. We’ve seen this throughout history. Even Plato and Aristotle observed odd behaviors among playwrights and poets, writes Harvard University researcher Shelley Carson, author of Your Creative Brain: Seven Steps to Maximize Imagination, Productivity and Innovation in Your Life, in the May/June 2011 issue of Scientific American.
She gave several examples of creatives’ strange behaviors:
“Albert Einstein picked up cigarette butts off the street to get tobacco for his pipe; Howard Hughes spent entire days on a chair in the middle of the supposedly germ-free zone of his Beverly Hills Hotel suite; the composer Robert Schumann believed that his musical compositions were dictated to him by Beethoven and other deceased luminaries from their tombs; and Charles Dickens is said to have fended off imaginary urchins with his umbrella as he walked the streets of London.”
But what’s most compelling is that research has corroborated the connection between creativity and eccentricity. And it starts, interestingly enough, with schizotypal personality, a milder version of schizotypal personality disorder.
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Interesting stuff! I’m a ‘creative’ and I’ve had various dreams that have predicted the future – especially deaths (including time of) and, once, a birth.
I’ve had perhaps 6 predictive dreams in my life. Another interesting foretelling device my life has givin me is auditory. Certain words when I’ve read them or heard them have a special sort of magic to them. These words referred to facts of my later life that were highly significant. Yes, I am also creative!
I’ve had recurring dreams, concurrent dreams with another person, premonitions, all that. Deju Vu is a very powerful feeling. I need little and get what I need and creativity is the central aspect of my life.
Wow, kind person.
I saw this in my email and laughed at the title at such an interesting place in my life, an artist, a writer, a professional photographer.
As a creative since birth, I also have been labeled, not Schizo, but bipolar, by a very linear grounded logical family of very beautiful people, well abiding citizens.
My brother is a cop, his wife a nurse, they believe in education, church on sundays, and I have been “crazy” my entire life, but to now as a divorced 33 year old woman, be deleted from facebook because I appear manic from working sleepless nights to create art, because I refuse systems, institutions, and challenge all that I am told, am not “well.”
I went to a pretend therapist for “them” to feel better, knowing they can’t possibly be creative, as I logical, which is why I feel compelled to respond to….”Of course, we know that not everyone who’s weird is creative. What’s the missing link?”
What, exactly is weird and why do you have the research to judge it, for the world is built to support your beautiful gifts but I ask you, are you put on medication for being obsessed with lab rats? Why aren’t labels made for people who spend days and nights and years in jobs they hate, in a life they dread? Wouldn’t that be more insane? I would want a diagnosis.
Why are “eccentric” people no strangely odd for dream interpretation than Harvard grads who discuss formulas for fun? I personally think if you stare at a screen without a people skill in your body, maybe there should be a room and a key for you, a drug should be demanded given to you at seven for SITTING still in that horrid English class, to rules sheep follow and dare not make change, but they are of course, “SCHIZO.” And thank God, I will sit with Martin Luther, Stephen King, Banksy, Eminem, David Blaine, Meryl Streep, and drink from the knowledge what you shall offer in a book but have never lived.
This is no way personal for I believe you are as important to my growth as yours, to collaborate and value the parts of others we don’t understand.
I find it a hard pill to swallow that the smartest people in the world aren’t musicians that can hear a note and be a stand up comedian or a improv actor, for what if we researched the insanity of your illness for not writing the right speech, knowing how to sing, or stand alone as a movement, or have books that have been written long after you are dead.
Would you take a pill and a label, be weird too if you didn’t make anyone laugh the way Will Ferrell did, who I hope to also see ghosts if it puts me in on the floor in laughter. I doubt anyone gives a shit who wrote this blog when they die, but that would be eccentric, wouldn’t it?
Dear Miss Obvious,
I bow to your greatness
Absolutely amazing response to a rather judgemental and highly psychopathologized interpretation of creative individuals. Your each point was greeted with a resounding applause by my “inner world”. THank you for expressing your truthful thoughts. Its funny how psychological researchers today are linking creativity with weirdness and psychopathology when at one point in “time” the birth of psychology, as a field of scientific research, was considered “airy fairy”, a soft science and creative/artistic in nature. The founders of Psychology itself must have been pretty creative and eccentric folk too… and according to the above research report, would have been pretty much psychologically unstable. Without creativity, innovation and invention would cease and thus, evolution too would stand still. Although this article was an interesting read, personally it probably isn’t in a manner that is in alignment with the researchers’ intention. Instead of supporting and encouraging creativity, this type of labelling is doing more damage than assisting individuals to explore their creativity to greater depths. It is potentially the reason why creative individuals choose to be creative quietly in fear of judgement, labelling, ridicule and psychopathologising.
Once again, Miss Oblivious… a fantastic response to the article. Personally, your comment has positively impacted me more than the article itself.
Kindly
I never respond so strongly to blogs, having one of my own makes me know the projections of love/hate are usually not about me, but after all, it is a blog about me, not science. The comments in reply have also fueled my spirit and reminded me I’m not alone in this linear ruled Universe and you have inspired me to go write in our defense! Thankyou for speaking up too, for it matters and inspires me
Dear Miss Obvious,
Though I understand your point of view, I’m not certain that I entirely agree with it. I too am a person of creative nature but I do not find myself offended at this article. I find it to be quite insightful at the marvels of the human mind.
I don’t believe that the article is attempting to condone creatives as psychologically unfit, but rather, just dub them as people who perceive the world in a different manner. Being eccentric is something I value – it makes me unique.
The author of this article must also be a creative person to have been able to take an accepted idea and form physical evidence to corroborate said idea. I highly doubt that one would be so quick as to dub themselves insane, am I mistaken?
I dearly hope not to offend you in saying this, but I am just speaking my mind.
Cordially,
Anonymous
If Beethoven were channeling music to you, would you have the nerve? to play it, write it, paint it, build it, expose it, eat it, perform it, set fire to it, sing it? Do you hear? Maybe he is.
Holy Crap!!
that would be freakishly weird. god i hope hes not channeling us. I’m pretty sure if he was some would say something though. so i guess what i’m trying to say is he has been dead for god knows how long and your wondering what peoples reaction is if he was channeling us. wow thats weird. BTW i think you would make a great debater. you take everything way to seriously. No offense
I was once considered creative, bohemian. Then I spent years straight jacketed with Pdrug chemicals, no one would call me a wordsmith now. The only thing I’ve writen in years is one creationist poem writen in stoy telling form, of the Goddess of Creation. I told Rehab I don’t care what kind of work I do. I don’t, my head is empty. Their is nothing to live for, or die for. It is all the sme -grey.
Can you get off the pills?
I think that every person who commented tried very hard to sound weird and interesting. Sounds like you all are trying too hard. If you’re saying that you are eccentric, you probably aren’t! Miss Obvious is pretty deluded to include herself with the likes of Banksy, et al. Please. If you’re so “inner” you would NOT be spouting off. My best friend who was mentally ill wrote songs and poems with Grammy/Oscar winners and would have never been on here. You’re obviously not as “out of it” as you would like us to believe. This article made total sense! Signed: scientific creative.
Miss misuse..it miause whatever.
Funny from your perspective I tried to be weird or eccentric, which are the parts of me I have never wanted to express for they have brought a lot of pain and heartache in my life wanting to be “normal.” Nor did I compare myself to Banksy any more than the writer compared herself to Einstein. I was speaking in extremes and did not view this as a spiritual matter, even though I find speaking up and out on my own behalf far more courageous than meditation. I’m not surprised you enjoyed this article by the way you responded to my personal opinion, but hey, judge me.
Right on, Miamuse. Thank you.
People are excited to see that other people are similar to themselves. If i say that im white, am i instantly black? ( bad example but you get the point). I was excited to see that my world wasnt just my world, but that it was interconnected with those of others. Deja Vu comes often with me as well… and maybe others are curious! I would always would try to find a reason for Deja Vi, but i never could quite understand it… I still dont and thats why im here. So maybe they are eccentric, but whats it matter anyways? Do you assume they are “posurs” because they are curious about there lives? meople come for answers, not to be criticized upon.
I wonder if they considered other views before testing this theory. Maybe it’s not that creatives have more unfiltered data coming in. It could quite possibly be that they have chosen to tune in to a different frequency of data.
The “inner world” is one of the very things that psychologists are trying to find out about. It’s one of the last unexplored frontiers. Creating (for me anyway) is all about expressing myself. My thoughts, fears, emotions, joys and sorrows. So yes my creativity comes from my “inner world”. Some people are just too afraid to express their inner world for fear of being labeled or laughed at. Everyone has the ability to be creative.
So we’re (the magical thinkers) being told that you know the only proper way to think? So you know the precise nature of reality. Okay, so what is time? What is conscious experience? Where did life come from?
I write short stories but unlike a lot of people here, I don’t claim to be insane or eccentric.
What I find though, is that I do get consumed by my characters. I write horror so this can become a problem. It happens when I leave the story I am writing and go about my normal life. I start thinking like my main character but it does subside after a while. I understand that a lot of actors go through a similar kind of thing.
That does make sense. Seeing so completely into someone’s head to be able to portray them would change you. I have an actor friend who is never really affected by the roles she plays. Some people are better than others with the way they are affected by somethings. She is a tiny bit quirky but mostly normal. I have some characters I like to play around with. To me, it seems as if they have a life of their own. I’m just on the outside looking in. There will be little conversations between them all, even if there is no reason for them to know each other.
I’m an artist, not especially skilled in drawing, but more of in the 3D realm. I could be labeled as ‘eccentric’ because I have a very strong tendency to pace, among other things. I find it helps me think. I think this article is interesting, but not really true. Creativity shouldn’t be defined as something someone is born into. It’s true some people have gifts, but this article makes it so black and white. It’s just like saying someone with a specific blood type will be smart and analitical. It’s really all about your experiences and lives. A painter will not think the same as a scientist, not because of differences in grey matter, but because of exposure. Artists are incouraged to be creative and to look at things differently, because that will change what they create and make it new and inviting. Scientists are supposed to follow a setup that becomes routine.
Sorry for the wall of text. just some input on the matter.
The authors of this study sense they are on the brink of a great breakthrough but cant quite pinpoint it, so they are hoping a creative nut will unwittingly spew forth the key to it, in one of these comments. Can you tell that I know what it is? Have you gathered that you aren’t going to get it from me? I won’t tell you what it is, but I will tell you how to find it. Master these activities: electronic theory, birdwatching, drawing from nature, telecom encryption, stalking,
outdoor survival, heavy machine operation, woodworking, haiku poetry, and parade marching. And one day when you aren’t thinking about anything in particular, it will come to you.
I seem to have some things in common with a lot of the people who have previously commented. I think creative people do tend to be eccentric and brave to a certain extent. It appears people like Charles Dickens was brave enough to be different and so thought to be eccentric (off centre). I’m probably considered to be eccentric. My latest blog was about ‘exploding head syndrome’ and I try not to be boring. Perhaps in trying not to be boring, I am in fact creative and eccentric?
I’m a creative, bipolar, or so they say. An aspiring writer, who has talent, and minimal craft. I hope to get an MFA and get the craft. There is a difference between being a creative at-large, and working on a craft, which takes organization, financial stability, optimism, planning, and discipline, and cooperation. A creative, who is schizo, bi-polar, etc. will be hampered to express themselves if they cannot gain life skills to attend to these matters.
Mrs Tartakovsky, you start your post saying “It’s common knowledge that creatives can be eccentric. We’ve seen this throughout history.”
Yes. But…
It is also common knowledge that politicians can be eccentric. We have seen this throughout history.
It is also common knowledge that bankers can be eccentric. We have seen this throughout history.
It is also common knowledge that bakers can be eccentric. We have seen this throughout history.
.. and I could go on!
Many people who are not run of the mill become artists because it is a life without bosses and fixed schedules.
But to credit many of them with schizotypical personalities is a little unfounded. In my opinion.
This is all qualitative stuff.. hence undocumented.
Einstein once said “Creativity is contagious pass it on”. Hopefully, one day both science and art(creativity) can find a happy marriage. It seems that both the scientific and the creatives could benefit each others knowledge. This article focuses too much on the differences. I would like to see more examples showcasing practices about how we can learn from each other; how has creativity helped humanity. I know they exist, but it does not seem like a focus in the main stream media today. It is all math science math science math science. Then, funding for art programs get cut. Progress comes from being able to think outside the box. What will happen to the creative minds of the future if we cannot understand them today and to label them as “crazy”? Embracing and appreciating differences is empowering and exciting…..pass it on.
well,i for one,appreciated the insight. although i think that “eccentric” is quite possibly just the label that people who don;t think a certain way perceive those who do. we know that creative’s brains actually do think differently so there is a physiological reason for viewing the world differently. do we choose to accept this unfiltered stimuli? i don;t think we have a choice, it happens. it’s the way we’re wired. i am one of a family of artists, writers and musicians, we were raised differently and react to different things. that inner world that has been mentioned – that can be a place of solace and it can be a lonely place too. thanks for the info and for the soapbox.
I am a creative and have a hard time dealing with people on a regular basis, mostly because I have Aspberger’s a mild type of autism, my brother was diagnosed but I never have been. I would be in a social situation and suddenly bomb out, I mean I really didn’t want to be there anymore, usually I turned to reading, these days its my art or I just space out, which bugs my husband because I looked depressed, I have to explain I am not always depressed when it happens but I am prone to depression, I’m very complex to live with. I get bored with social things pretty quick and I hate social aspects of most jobs, wears me down. This was a great article, makes me think of some of the books I’ve read like Touched by Fire, talking about creativity and the bipolar disorder.
Eccentricity is such a broad term, but I do agree that certain behaviors are found to be more common in people who find their passion in something creative. In my experience anyway, I have usually found that most artists that I know seem to have problems focusing on tasks that they do not take interest in or that they do not find to be creative.
See, for some, mathematics can be seen as extremely creative while, for others, it is dull and seen as a logical run of numbers. For me personally, math has always been a problem because it is not my creative outlet and I get distracted from it easily with random thoughts or visuals. (How the numbers look and if they were colored, then I start thinking about how balloons are colored and then the numbers begin to float right off the page). I am not trying to exaggerate my so-called ‘eccentricities’, it is just simply how I’ve always functioned. Interesting and thought-provoking article, but I believe some of these traits apply to a lot of the general population.
One strange thing about me, I suppose, is that I get really annoyed at obvious spelling errors in writing. I have always been so good at spelling naturally that it annoys me when people can’t spell correctly. I don’t mean to get annoyed at it, but it especially bothers me when someone is trying to get a point across and they do not clearly state their opinion…so why should I bother reading it? This may all sound arrogant, but it simply makes sense to me.
I agree. It they can’t be bothered writing correctly, why should I bother reading it.
I am very arty. Visual art is my calling. I studied fine art. I write. I’ve dabbled in acting. However I have always worked in very ordinary jobs, mainly in creative industries though – PR, marketing and event management, but ordinary, in a business suit with a laptp. So I shouldn’t stand out as being different. Right? Well, I do. People pick me for an artist right away, all the time. I am not shy but I am reserved with people these days because I know the stuff I say sometimes makes them wonder what planet I just came in from. And it can be uncomfortable.