The Freak Factor by David Rendall

Author:David Rendall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: success, positive psychology, weird, unique, unconventional, different, growth, development, improvement, strength, strange, unusual, abnormal, weakness, freak factor, rendall
Publisher: David Rendall

Insanity

The ancient philosopher, Seneca, said that "there is no great genius without a touch of madness." In his mind, genius and insanity aren't two separate conditions; they are both part of the same condition. If you have one, you have the other.

Apple celebrates the connection between genius and madness in their Think Different commercial. “Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. Think Different.”

Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates people who are different. A few months after my friend's son, Jim, started kindergarten, the teacher diagnosed him as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder, which is defined as a pattern of angry, hostile and disobedient behavior. Naturally, my friends were concerned about their son and had him evaluated by a psychologist. The tests showed that he had an IQ in the genius range. He didn't have a problem. He had a gift that looked like a problem.

I think this happens more than we think. Every day bosses, teachers, spouses, co-workers and friends misdiagnose genius as madness. Sometimes we even do it to ourselves. Once this happens, the attempts at healing begin. Unfortunately, healing the madness can destroy the genius.

Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine also supports Seneca’s argument. She wrote a fascinating book, Touched With Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament, which suggests that mental illness might actually be a requirement for creating great art.

Jamison argues that “most artistic geniuses were (and are) manic depressives” and that “psychological suffering is an essential component of artistic creativity.” This might seem like a wild proposition. So it is also important to note that Kay is a scientist and has researched this connection extensively. She also has manic-depression.

The most astonishing response to Jamison’s book comes from Robert Bernard Martin, Professor Emeritus at Princeton University. “By the end of the book the reader has been quietly rerouted to the profoundly ethical question of whether the eradication of this disease (manic-depression) by modern molecular biology would not ultimately be a diminution of the human race."

That is a strong statement. Martin is implying that curing manic-depression could diminish people’s ability to create fine art. If this is true, then fostering this condition might increase people’s creative impulses.

Similarly, Michael Maccoby, author of The Productive Narcissist: The Promise and Peril of Visionary Leadership, believes that the negative characteristics of narcissistic leaders, extreme sensitivity to criticism, unwillingness to listen, paranoia, extreme competitiveness, anger, exaggeration,

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