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The science of creativity and the case of the forever effervescent Syd Barrett
By Kent R. Kroeger (May 4, 2021)
“There is no great genius without a touch of madness.” — Aristotle (384 BC–322 BC)
“You are only given a little spot of madness, and if you lose that, you are nothing.” — Robin Williams (1951–2014)
“I know a mouse, and he hasn’t got a house. I don’t know why, I call him Gerald.” — Syd Barrett (1946–2006)
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Just suppose clouds had strings attached to them which hang down to earth. What would happen?
How you answer this question may not only indicate your level of creativity, but also the likelihood you suffer from mental illness.
That was the discovery of neuroscientist Szabolcs Kéri of Semmelweis University in Hungary in a 2009 study that found a link between the presence of neuregulin 1, a gene commonly associated with psychosis and depression, and a person’s level of creativity.
“Molecular factors that are loosely associated with severe mental disorders but are present in many healthy people may have an advantage enabling us to think more creatively,” says Szabolcs.
In Szabolcs’ study, volunteers were asked a number of nonsensical questions like the ‘cloud’…
