'Creativity' and 'Abnormality': A Blessing Through Symbiotic Coexistence?

A flash of "genius," "insanity," or "deviation?" Or a combination? We would be well-advised to remind ourselves of, and heed, the oft-quoted phrase "things are not always what they seem." I admit I am not a psychologist or a psychiatrist by any stretch. But I have personally experienced enough to realize that behavior and attitudes that may be considered "disturbing" or "abnormal" may also be part-and-parcel of something much larger than our present scale of comprehension. Therein is the potential to discover a universe that may have as much power to create or enhance as it does to destroy or reduce: a universe whose positive ingenuity may possibly be extracted and transformed from--or may exist due to--negativity.

In the BBC article, Creative minds 'mimic schizophrenia' , researchers explain that a correlation between creativity and mental illness apparently exists because neurological functions in both creative and mentally ill persons have been found to similarly and strikingly allow for greater information access and processing. This greater leeway in cognitive ability is attributed to less filtering---that is less restrictions imposed on their brains---as a result of a lack of certain receptors (called dopamine, or D2) discovered in these two groups. These findings contrasted deeply with other (read non-creative and non-ill) human beings who retain larger amounts of the receptors in question.

While it's too early to make a definitive judgment on (or verification of) these connections they represent, at the very least, one more step towards appreciating how humans see the world around them ---and one that could offer more insight into the seemingly not-so-distinct lines between "reality" and "personal world-view." Furthermore (and perhaps just as, if not more, importantly), it is also one more step that could help us demystify the behavioral and cognitive traits and effects of mental illness in addition to those found in creative persons.

Regarding mental illness, I am a firm believer that demystification will help us move away from shunning, looking down upon, and simplifying those with mental illnesses. Despite the progress that modern society has attained in educating the public on these disorders---and in spite of the anti-discrimination laws passed to protect the disabled---I would still be hard-pressed to say with certainty that we have fully disavowed inclinations to view them through a blind reductionist lens that at best seemingly generalizes them (and their circumstances) as if they were merely statistics. If a connection with creativity solidly and meaningfully exists, exploring such a connection can then help us to develop better ways of coping with mental illnesses. I am hopeful that with more research we can explore methods and ways of channeling energy, away from the debilitations and limitations of illness, towards productive ends. Perhaps we will be able to see a silver lining in mental illnesses and other disabilities, rather than primarily defaulting to case studies on the negative coupled with medication prescriptions to control or limit them. Perhaps proactive measures can be created and implemented to supplement the current convention of responsive (reactive) treatment and management.

Similarly efforts towards a deeper understanding on the sources and effects of creativity would serve us very well because we know that what lies in creativity is one of the crucial keys to problem solving, adaptation, productivity and efficiency, critical thinking and reasoning, and development of all forms. In short, we can expand our paths to improvement in the quality of life and of environment ... be it social, political, spiritual, biological, economic, natural, chemical, personal, ecological, and so on.

Maybe I am putting too much faith and optimism in research towards these ends, and I am certainly not deluded into overlooking the possibilities of backfiring and of exacerbation (of negativities) such efforts can invite. But it is still worthy and essential to consider whether our own understandings and concepts of creativity and mental illness---as advanced as they have become---are counter-productive and restricting in their own right. We would do well to consider if there is more room to positively push the envelope. Whether there is ample space to foster greater human nurturing and better management of both talent/innovation and limitation, beyond conventions and norms that were established for equally good reason and for the same noble purposes. In studying creativity and mental illness, we may have an opportunity and an incentive to do just that.

The Internet and the (Relative) Opening of Communication channels in Arab World

I came across a BBC news article whose news was not surprising but nonetheless a snapshot of a very interesting development currently ongoing in the Arab World: relative liberalization (opening) of communication channels to share news and information, expand personal contacts, and for entertainment purposes.

I have chosen to regard the opening as relative for the obvious, and maybe not-so-obvious, reasons. Of course, the obvious reasons include whether the promise of opening can resist any challenges by the state and its authorities, such as the technical (e.g. the blocking of IP addresses of websites) and non-technical (e.g. arrests and harassments of bloggers). But, the second-to-last paragraph in the BBC article struck me as significant as its headline, perhaps implicitly raising a question into what seem as less obvious dynamics associated with the online expansion:

"But the survey does not provide a detailed breakdown of how it is used in Arab countries - for example how much of it is for chatting and making friends and how much is for political and social campaigning."

I took this question and extended it into further pondering: whether, and what to extent, non-political challenges exist from within non-state elements.

One should champion the extension and expansion of freedom in the press and other communication media, but would hope that such freedom would be accompanied by meaningful pursuits/usage---to balance out any time misspent frivolously and merely as a tool for entertainment where it could have been put to better use. So I view the liberalization of communication provided by internet applications to young Arabs with guarded optimism. It is too early to decisively and definitively tell whether, and to what extent, the opportunities found in the expansion of non-traditional communication technology will be meaningfully exploited. [Nonetheless, we should champion the expansion of such technology as a matter of principle---as a *potential* (if not yet fully realized) vehicle for fostering and preserving vibrant interaction.]

In the Arab World, there is evidence of efforts towards using technologies such as Facebook as vehicles for change, sharing of meaningful information, etc. But, for now, such efforts appear to have little appeal or reach beyond small core groups. I doubt that more broader segments of their societies--the people they most need to engage--have access to activities and interactions of the small groups. Maybe this disconnect is related to the state and political restrictions on communication, but maybe it is also related to socio-economic, sub-cultural and/or other differences and factors that could influence uncertainty in the willingness and ability of various societal segments to engage with one another and that could influence prioritizing over how cyberspace social networking and similar applications will be effectively used.