The Unleashed Mind: Why Creative People Are Eccentric

[Mika]

Scientific American published this article: Highly creative people often seem weirder than the rest of us. Now researchers know why

EDIT: K found this website, that tends to sum it up a bit more clearly! http://tasramar.com/2012/01/the-unle...are-eccentric/ and well this part has nothing to do with the article i thought it was another good insight: http://tasramar.com/2012/01/life-beg...-comfort-zone/

But if you want to 'read' continue below

By Shelley Carson | Thursday, April 14, 2011 |

i found a copy of the full article on pastebin .. just scroll down to the bottom of the webpage to access the frame to the article. http://pastebin.com/4WnGpCx4


He is one of the world’s best known and most successful entrepreneurs, with hundreds of patents to his name—including the Segway scooter. But you will never see Dean Kamen in a suit and tie: the eccentric inventor dresses almost exclusively in denim. He spent five years in college before dropping out, does not take vacations and has never married. Kamen presides (along with his Ministers of Ice Cream, Brunch and Nepotism) over the Connecticut island kingdom of North Dumpling, which has “seceded” from the U.S. and dispenses its own currency in units of pi. Visitors are issued a visa form that includes spaces on which to note identifying marks on both their face and buttocks.

Kamen, who works tirelessly at inspiring kids to pursue careers in science and engineering, is one of many highly creative people whose personal behavior sometimes strikes others as odd. 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. More recently, we have seen Michael Jackson’s preoccupation with rhinoplasty, Salvador Dalí’s affection for dangerous pets and the Icelandic singer Björk dressed for the Oscars as a swan.

It isn’t just average Joes who perceive highly creative individuals as eccentric. These individuals often see themselves as different and unable to fit in. The latest findings in brain imaging, creativity research and molecular biology suggest that these perceptions are not just based on a few anecdotal accounts of “weird” scientists and artists. In fact, creativity and eccentricity often go hand in hand, and researchers now believe that both traits may be a result of how the brain filters incoming information. Even in the business world, there is a growing appreciation of the link between creative thinking and unconventional behavior, with increased acceptance of the latter. ... For several years I have included a question in my creativity research that asks “Do you often feel like a square peg in a round hole?” Participants who score high on the Creative Achievement Questionnaire have answered “yes” significantly more often than those who have low scores in creative achievement. In fact, one participant—a Hollywood screenwriter—answered “no” but then wrote below the question: “I don’t feel like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. I feel like an octagonal peg with conical appendages.”

The good news is that the plight of square pegs may be improving. The ascendancy of innovative technology as a key factor in economic growth has elevated creativity from merely a positive trait to a highly sought-after commodity in the global market. Many leading corporations—such as Coca Cola, DuPont, Citigroup and Humana—now have chief innovation officers on their leadership teams. Prestigious business schools—such as Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and Yale—have added courses on creativity to their curricula. And Fortune 500 companies, including PepsiCo, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Aetna and Marriott, now routinely put employees through creativity training programs. Trainers in these classes use a variety of tools and techniques to help noneccentrics open their minds to “out of the box” thoughts and stimuli that might otherwise be ignored or suppressed.

As the market value of creative thinking increases, the round-hole world may continue to make adjustments to accommodate and assimilate eccentrics. Such accommodations already exist in communities with high concentrations of artists, writers, scientists and computer geeks. Managers within these communities tolerate bizarre clothing choices, disregard of normal social protocols and nontraditional work schedules in the interest of promoting innovation. At Dean Kamen’s company, Deka Research & Development, for example, not only is denim well accepted but employees are allowed—even expected—to solve problems and complete tasks in whatever way works best for them.

Square pegs (and octagonal pegs with conical appendages) no longer have to work so hard at fitting in. It is high time. Indeed, we all owe a deep debt of gratitude to those whose creative work has been accomplished at the expense of square-peg feelings of alienation and ostracism. The creative efforts of eccentrics add richness, beauty and innovation to the lives of those of us who have fit somewhat more comfortably into our round holes.

Scientific American is a trademark of Scientific American, Inc.,

[Moco Loco]

Nice post. I went to an art school for two years and have seen these patterns frequently. The most "normal" were always either the media people or the creative writers, maybe because these divisions had more rules than the others, or so we always thought.

[txen]

Life long sqarepegger here. Just ask my wife although she tends to use a bit stronger words than eccentric. Besides, normal people are boring.

[Niri Te]

HEY, if you use a square peg that the diagonal measurement is the same value as the diameter of the round hole, it fits JUST FINE!!!

Originally Posted by txen

Life long sqarepegger here. Just ask my wife although she tends to use a bit stronger words than eccentric. Besides, normal people are boring.

[Fosus]

weird people are awesome

[versicolor]

Originally Posted by Mika

......octagonal pegs with conical appendages......

Nice description.
Possibly a Square-pegger in denial?

[Ja'k Dawsiin]

why are so many creative people left-handed? i have seen literally hundreds of singers, actors, athletes, writers, directors, composers, using their left hands in interviews, events, and their public work, and a lot of them using both left and right hands. are left-handed people more creative than righties?

[Neyfan]

I'm left handed in my art.

To answer your question Jak. I think a cat scan will answer why creative people are the way they are. It doesn't really have to do with what hand they use,but their minds. Einstein has a form of autism and look what he did with it. I think they're eccentric as they're passionate about the things they enjoy working on. If Stephen Hawking wasn't immobile, he'd be just as eccentric. Some think science is boring, well I've had teachers who made it fun and I learned from them.