Essay On Madness And Madness

As seen multiple times throughout Logicomix, mathematicians and logicians are often times viewed as “mad.” They exhibit abnormal behaviors, question everything, and do not conform to society. Today, individuals like these are considered punks. The discussion of madness and genius has long been spoken about, and not just solely in mathematics. The discussion began back when Aristotle noted, “Those who have been eminent in philosophy, politics, poetry, and the arts have all had tendencies toward melancholia” (Andreasen). It is believed that people not lacking myopia are twice as likely to have a mental disorder compared to “normal” people. The most common mental disorder is depression which frequently coincides with alcoholism and suicide …show more content…
Galton studied family trees of various talented individuals including Bach and Brontës. With his research he concluded that there was a strong genetic component (Anderasen).Various studies have been conducted to find a connection between creativity and mental illness. In one study, Secrets of the Creative Brain, it was stated that the individual studied, Kurt Vonnegut, had a family history of mental illness. While that may be no surprise, what was surprising was that mental illness and creativity seemed to go hand in hand throughout the family line. Among these family members with mental illness, were a “talented physical chemist” and “gifted architect”, along with other creative individuals (Andreasen). Nancy Andreasen, in her work, realized the familial connection of mental …show more content…
Elyn Saks, a mental health law professor at the University of Southern California, gave her reason as to why mental illness tend to show extreme creativity in mental patients. She states, “[they are] able to entertain contradictory ideas simultaneously, and become aware of loose associations that most people 's unconscious brains [would not] consider worthy of sending to the surface of our consciousness” (Wolchover). Saks not only has credibility as a mental health law professor, but she herself was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a young adult. A study was conducted in relation to her comment. The word association study provided data that showed individuals coming out of manic periods gave three times the number of word associations compared to a “normal” group (Wolchover). Another piece of evidence supporting the mental illness and creativity