Creativity Linked to Sexual Success and Schizophrenia

[emad]

The list of promiscuous poets and artists is long, as is the list of poets' and artists' children who suffer from mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. Now new research links creative ability and sexual success--and explains why something as seemingly maladaptive as schizophrenia would persist among humans.

Psychologist Daniel Nettle of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in England and his colleagues recruited 425 British men and women through advertisements in a small town newsletter and specialty lists for creative types. The researchers surveyed this group with questions designed to measure various schizophrenic behaviors, artistic output and sexual success, among other aspects of their personal history.

Results of that survey showed that people who displayed strong evidence of "unusual experiences" and "impulsive non-conformity"--two broad types of schizophrenic behavior--had more sexual partners than their peers did and were more likely to be involved in artistic pursuits, either professionally or as a hobby. Those who professionally pursued the arts had the highest average number of partners--5.5--compared to just over four for the less creativestudy participants.

Of course, there are a number of possible reasons for the artists' mating success. "Creative people are often considered to be very attractive and get lots of attention as a result," Nettle explains. "It could also be that very creative types lead a bohemian lifestyle and tend to act on more sexual impulses and opportunities."

http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=0006C77A-D7DD-138C-974083414B7F4945

[OldLeftieLawyer]

1. This is the best example I know

of trying to squeeze people who don't have the requisite borders (by that, I mean people who don't live their lives the way the majority of others do) into boxes so that those outside the boxes can be comfortable with them.

I defy anyone to tell me where creativity ends and mental illness begins.

No one's ever been able to do it - no one ever will. It's far too subjective, and, like the rightwingnuts who demand everyone accept Christ as a personal something-or-other, so do these scientists (of which I'm one, alas) continually come up with variations on this tired old Van Gogh theme, all of which is designed simply to make uncomfortable people feel at ease with people who are different from them.

On edit: But, yes, we do have more varied and comprehensive and fun-filled sexual lives and histories than the researchers or the buttoned-down 9-5 types because we can and because we're really fun with it.

[Tace]

2. I Always Knew I Was Fuckin' Nuts!

[hwmnbn]

3. You wanna mess around?.......

:silly: