The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Madness and genius two sides of the same coin?

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Wednesday, Jun 27, 2007
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Madness and genius two sides of the same coin?

Krishna Velupillai

Link not a myth, scientific evidence backs it: expert

— Photo: S.S.Kumar

ATTENTIVE GROUP: Julie Evans of the Department of Psychology, London Metropolitan University, speaking at the British Council on Monday.

CHENNAI: What do Mendel, Van Gogh and Virginia Woolfe have in common? Apart from being creative geniuses, their beautiful minds were wrapped in a sheath of madness. They, along with many other famous names, suffered from psychological conditions which set them apart from the rest of the humanity.

Dr. Julie Evans, Department of Psychology, London Metropolitan University, explored this link between creative genius and madness at the British Council here. “There is evidence to show the link between madness and creativity…but, perhaps this seminar will raise more questions,” she said as she waded into the controversial subject of her lecture.

She argued her case using findings of various scientific studies. “The link is not just an urban myth,” she said. Human beings evolve best to suit their conditions. If this is the case, why do conditions such as schizophrenia remain within our genetic structure? Evans raised this question and then provided the plausible answer as suggested by Karlson J. According to his findings, the genes that are responsible for a predisposition towards psychological illness are the same ones that code for creativity.

Evans said that studies show that geniuses ran a 30 per cent lifetime risk of developing some form of psychosis, be it schizophrenia or affective disorders such as manic depression, as opposed to only a 5 per cent risk among average human beings.

The studies can be conducted in many ways. With the living it is more difficult, as genius is often declared posthumously. Thus, merely selecting a group of people and giving them some tests to check on commonalities does not work. Frequently psychologists get autobiographical information, not just about the individual but also the parents, relatives and environment. They then piece together a story to see if a link can be established. Many of these tests found that geniuses often had a history of psychological illness in their families. They also developed psychological conditions at some point during their lives.

Studies quoted by Evans also show that of all groups of creative people, writers suffered the most. Some 46 per cent had a severe form of psychopathology at some point in their lives.

Despite all these studies, some questions that still remain are how creative people manage to harness madness into a skill. “Social recognition is one way madness turns into genius,” said Evans. “It also has to do with intelligence and personality.”

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