Alternativefruit.com
|
|
Alternative Fruit brings creative education and inspiration to a world hungry for change. I don't ask for payment but donations are necessary. Please share with your networks and come back often.
Sanity is often used as a relative term. We define something as sane when it conforms to the various standards that we expect from something in its situation. The problem with creativity, then, is that to change the normal into something different, we run the risk of being judged as insane or just plain old crazy. The perceptions of the masses are usually the only difference between sanity and creativity, with the imaginations of those around us being the judge and final decision maker. If they can’t think of a way something is useful to them, or interesting in any way, then the result is often a bad reception.
A creative genius is someone who uses their creative intelligence to improve the lives of those around them in a substantial way. This could be scientific or artistic with both venues offering great audiences who eagerly await the new and novel idea. When we use our creativity to change something in a way that makes a difference, we run a genuine risk of making things worse. This is the line between insanity and creative genius, where the result really matters on how we are remembered. The reason creative people are tolerated in society when the risks are apparent is that creative process is the way human society progresses. The act of making little changes to a process or design is akin to evolution making little changes to genetics through cross-pollination and mutation. The cross-pollination and mutation of human thoughts are the driving force of creative change. This form of reverse entropy is a reflection of life’s very own principle of maintaining a chemical imbalance in order to carry out necessary functions that exceed the energy required for homeostasis. The overflow of human energy is then used to produce a variety of changes and adaptations that will be tested according to their worth and their immediate surroundings. It has been shown, especially in art, that a profound madness can become a funnel for astounding creativity. The paintings and poetry of the mad are popular now and have been for generations, with crazy ideas and insane perspectives and interpretations taking the lead over our usual humdrum and bourgeoise thoughts. Richard Dadd, Edvard Munch, Vincent Van Gogh, Louis Wain, and many more artists are well-known for episodes of insanity. Even science figures like Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein are known for having problematic mental health. Genius and madness are often linked. In order to have a ground-breaking idea that shifts the rules of how we go about our lives, we need to have an element of creativity that most others do not. Madness and creativity have a link in the phenomenon of apophenia. This is a type of psychosis that results in seeing patterns and hallucinating because of seemingly unrelated causes. A creative mind will naturally draw correlations between loosely connected principles in a sometimes playful or sometimes observant manner. This can become a form of madness when the patterns and imaginations become irrational and counter to the everyday functioning of life. It can result in the subconscious mind becoming closer to conscious thought, with dreams and non-sensical images making their way into the rational consciousness, affecting the way we feel and think. Prone to suggestion and control, people who suffer from serious apophenia can be a risk to others and themselves. It has been shown that apophenia can also be a precursor to psychosis and schizophrenia.
The positive side of this kind of mental process is the ability to unify concepts and principles into accurate and rational sets. By showing how one thing relates to another in a way that doesn’t follow the traditional route of thinking, creative people are able to draw correlations between subjects that are often seen as different. For instance, Isaac Newton was able to determine that an apple falling from a tree and other such everyday things like this are related to the movements of the Earth around the Sun. He even proved it. Amazing, right?
To achieve theories that utilise several seemingly unrelated factors requires the ability to hold multiple perspectives at once, sometimes ignoring conflicting ideas that each one traditionally holds. It is in the letting go of the conflicting ideas and finding another way of thinking about something that allows the pattern to be completed. By bypassing the known facts to prove them insufficient we can be seen as insane, by the way we deny what can be shown to be seemingly apparent. The apparency of a thing is often related to the way we think about it rather than the thing itself. It is in the shifting of perspective that new things become clear and old ideas look outdated. Creative people are inherently rule breakers. They look to see what can be changed and they work to show it can be done. A sense of challenge and reward can be a driving force in breaking through given boundaries, obeying a gut instinct that something is possible rather than listening to the social consensus is what makes creative people pursue their ideas. When we break rules as a habit, we can often appear to be either insane or completely unsuitable for anything. The madness of not following instruction and thinking to cut corners or find new avenues is counter-productive to most processes in the modern word. It's important to be able to maintain an element of conformity when it matters, even if the creative mind is continually offering advice. The frame of mind that looks for creative solutions is not always available. It is heavily determined by the mood. Because creativity is linked to the dopamine reward system, the individual’s mood can be a limiting or driving factor in their ability to be inventive. The problem solving and correct result forming reward that the mind receives during creative action is related to the idea of novelty and repetition. Both factors work together in a feedback mechanism to build on one another. This process of novelty and repetition gives rise to new concepts and practice at the same time which results in brand new creative ideas and skills. People with an active limbic system are often prone to mood swings and uncontrollable emotional lives. Although possible to manage this backdrop to life, the limbic system seems to have a mind of its own and paints the perceptions a variety of colours depending on how it is operating. This part of the middle brain is related to subconscious thought and is the source of most of our emotional response. This means that creative people are exposed to the sways of up and down emotions, especially if the reward system is active at the same time. To be rejected as a creative person can lead to a big down sensation and to be accepted can lead to a dramatic up sensation, both of which are detrimental to the next level of productivity. This means that creative people need to maintain a healthy sense of distance from their work and the rest of their lives, especially when in the thralls of public acceptance or rejection. When the whole spirit is entwined in the outcome of a body of work that’s taken emotion and intellect, and a diagnosis of madness is given, it’s vital to keep this apart from the normal everyday things. If the opinion goes the other way, then it’s also important to not let the high of acceptance bring about a sense of entitlement or superiority. You may have noticed this is not easy for many highly successful artists and intellectuals. But not all creative people are mad or are even prone to appearing so. Many of us are quite capable of getting on in the world and feeling fine about doing so. It’s not creativity on its own that leads to susceptibility to mental health issues. There is a triangle of influences at work that results in memorable characters and ground-breaking works. The combination of a creative mind, the ability to see and pursue new perspectives, an unusually high IQ, to be able to see and understand concepts that most others are unable to, and a predetermined element of psychoticism, work together to create personalities that excel not only in inventiveness but in being remembered. Are you a creative designer? Check out these specialised daily deals Your Resource For Creative And Artistic Enrichment Please consider supporting this free-to-read journal by shopping with the following partners:
Check the Menu for even more cool options! Thank You So Much. Leave a Reply. |
CategoriesAuthorAlternative Fruit by Rowan B. Colver Archives
January 2025
This site partners with Google to provide ads that directly fund production and hosting. If you run an adblock, please whitelist this website. This site also contains affiliate links which reward the author for each purchase.
|
Shop to Support Alternative Fruit
|
Thanks for supporting Alternative Fruit
Read our Privacy Policy here For people, for peace, with love. Made in the UK by Homunculus Media |