Hi All,
Wow, what a semester! Three and a half months ago, I didn't quite know what to think when walking to the young center for the first time! We had our first talk on race and IQ which was interesting, but I still didn't know what to make of the course. After a few classes or so I really began to enjoy the in class discussion component. I really appreciated that Dr. Pretz didn't lecture the entire time and she allowed for more of a dialog about the material to unfold. I thought this was vastly more helpful than a traditional lecture as it helped me manipulate the material while I was learning it. Also hearing other individuals and their impressions on the material was helpful and it began to challenge my initial impressions on whichever study topic. The debates were interesting, but at times I wished they were more dynamic. It would have been cool to integrate some additional neuroscience into the course. What brain regions are associated with creativity etc. However, the papers we read this semester were interesting in their own right.
I felt the PDQ's to be immensely helpful in staying up with course content and thinking deeper about the concepts. The text books for the course were short and easy to navigate as well. My favorite highlight of the course was the paper and doing my own debate. I must admit that the debate was my first since freshmen year! I feel this experience is invaluable to have. Also, since my paper topic was near and dear to my heart (biology-inspired) I felt obliged to make it the best I could! I feel the current edition of it is almost perfect, and will be ready for submission before Thursday.
This has been a absolute fantastic experience--especially for a second semester senior! Thanks again for reading my blog posts.I really enjoyed reading my classmates--some of them had really interesting takes on course content! Although my blogging may cease for this topic, does not mean I have finished philosophizing about intelligence and creativity!
Thanks again,
Ryan
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Mental Illness and Creativity
Hi All,
This debate was interesting in that both sides did a fantastic job advocating for their view points! However, I wish the debate topic should have been qualified with a specific disease such as schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, or seasonal affective disorder. This would have provided the audience with more details and would have focused the debate more.
Questions I had entering the debate: What kind of disorders? What were the mechanisms underlying this decrease in creativity? For the later I could imagine a disease such as depression which may inhibit creativity due to compulsive thoughts occupying a patients mind. Also, I could also see a scenario where depression may predispose a person to be isolated, which would allow them more alone time to potentially think creatively.
So I have come o the conclusion that a mental illness effects on creativity is dependent on how the illness effects the individual! This would explain some of the discrepancies the debaters had between themselves and why some mental diseases promote creativity, while others do not. There may be in fact more variability to this question than previously thought!
Also a question that interest me is what neuroscience is involved in these illnesses that may enhance creativity? For instance, the debaters pointed out that many artist tend to be in a depressed state during the genesis of their best work. How can this be? Perhaps the inhibition of certain neural networks which regulate the "creative" networks result in the expression of greater creative prowess. Or maybe the induction of depression up regulate neural tracts responsible for the feelings of depression, yet the same tract being unregulated increases creativity. Or for a third option, maybe being depressed changes your interpretation of the world, so that you see experiences differently in comparison to non-disease states and therefore produce different creative products.
Regardless, this was a great debate which got me thinking! Please comment on your thoughts and impressions. I will post once more before the end of the semester.
Until my next post.
Ryan
This debate was interesting in that both sides did a fantastic job advocating for their view points! However, I wish the debate topic should have been qualified with a specific disease such as schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, or seasonal affective disorder. This would have provided the audience with more details and would have focused the debate more.
Questions I had entering the debate: What kind of disorders? What were the mechanisms underlying this decrease in creativity? For the later I could imagine a disease such as depression which may inhibit creativity due to compulsive thoughts occupying a patients mind. Also, I could also see a scenario where depression may predispose a person to be isolated, which would allow them more alone time to potentially think creatively.
So I have come o the conclusion that a mental illness effects on creativity is dependent on how the illness effects the individual! This would explain some of the discrepancies the debaters had between themselves and why some mental diseases promote creativity, while others do not. There may be in fact more variability to this question than previously thought!
Also a question that interest me is what neuroscience is involved in these illnesses that may enhance creativity? For instance, the debaters pointed out that many artist tend to be in a depressed state during the genesis of their best work. How can this be? Perhaps the inhibition of certain neural networks which regulate the "creative" networks result in the expression of greater creative prowess. Or maybe the induction of depression up regulate neural tracts responsible for the feelings of depression, yet the same tract being unregulated increases creativity. Or for a third option, maybe being depressed changes your interpretation of the world, so that you see experiences differently in comparison to non-disease states and therefore produce different creative products.
Regardless, this was a great debate which got me thinking! Please comment on your thoughts and impressions. I will post once more before the end of the semester.
Until my next post.
Ryan
Creative Project Reflection
Hi All,
This weeks creative project was interesting, in that it allowed the class to reflect on course content and put into practice some theory discussed in the course. I was most impressed by the song that Andrew made! It was very creative and it was aesthetic as well. He incorporated dialog to his song and had a soundtrack to his speech. I was also impressed by the play that Mary came with, as it had a unique conflict, yet addressed all components to her paper topic.
Being biased, I must admit I was a fan of my creative project! I feel showing the sad video from 'up' and having my classmates experience my paper topic was valuable to their understanding. I asked "will you be sad about this video next week?" They answered no! Why? Since humans have developed cognitive mechanisms over the course of our evolutionary history, we have become experts at rationalizing feelings in order to live more productive lives. This experiment is helpful in that it it has the audience see the real life practical application of my paper.
Also--I must admit, although mine was cool, Tatum's was even cooler as it incorporated video interviews of us fellow students and professors alike! Her project was on the creativity of lying! More importantly--I was featured in the video! From the video I was able to see real life examples of creative lying from people that I knew! This really resonated with me and showed me not only first hand examples of creative lies, but the thought process of the creative lair. One thing I noticed from each liar in the video is that they played on there environment and modified their lie based on the situation.
For instance, Dr. Roy was lying about his age in order to buy alcohol, and he modified his lie based on what the cashier was asking him. In my case, I lie to women about having my heart on the right side of my chest. I give them pseudo-medical details and eventually flexing my right pectoral to provide them the evidence they are seeking. This lie is perfect, as there is a dialogue with the girl, there is usually laughter involved, and I get to show off my pec-flexing skills!
All of the projects were fantastically done and provided insight to each individuals paper topics. This exercise was fun and should absolutely be replicated in future years! I feel this is a efficient way to cover a lot of topics while maintaining interest. Be sure to comment on your personal favorites.
Until my next post,
Ryan
This weeks creative project was interesting, in that it allowed the class to reflect on course content and put into practice some theory discussed in the course. I was most impressed by the song that Andrew made! It was very creative and it was aesthetic as well. He incorporated dialog to his song and had a soundtrack to his speech. I was also impressed by the play that Mary came with, as it had a unique conflict, yet addressed all components to her paper topic.
Being biased, I must admit I was a fan of my creative project! I feel showing the sad video from 'up' and having my classmates experience my paper topic was valuable to their understanding. I asked "will you be sad about this video next week?" They answered no! Why? Since humans have developed cognitive mechanisms over the course of our evolutionary history, we have become experts at rationalizing feelings in order to live more productive lives. This experiment is helpful in that it it has the audience see the real life practical application of my paper.
Also--I must admit, although mine was cool, Tatum's was even cooler as it incorporated video interviews of us fellow students and professors alike! Her project was on the creativity of lying! More importantly--I was featured in the video! From the video I was able to see real life examples of creative lying from people that I knew! This really resonated with me and showed me not only first hand examples of creative lies, but the thought process of the creative lair. One thing I noticed from each liar in the video is that they played on there environment and modified their lie based on the situation.
For instance, Dr. Roy was lying about his age in order to buy alcohol, and he modified his lie based on what the cashier was asking him. In my case, I lie to women about having my heart on the right side of my chest. I give them pseudo-medical details and eventually flexing my right pectoral to provide them the evidence they are seeking. This lie is perfect, as there is a dialogue with the girl, there is usually laughter involved, and I get to show off my pec-flexing skills!
All of the projects were fantastically done and provided insight to each individuals paper topics. This exercise was fun and should absolutely be replicated in future years! I feel this is a efficient way to cover a lot of topics while maintaining interest. Be sure to comment on your personal favorites.
Until my next post,
Ryan
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