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Mr. Salman Rushdie recently shared a Scientific American article that looked at the connection between eccentricity and being creative. Surprise, surprise, they found a link between the two. More specifically, they found a link between Schizotypal behavior and creativity. But as any good scientist will tell you, correlation does not equal causation. Let’s look at this closely, then, and see what we can find.
Personally, I found the article compelling, and given the prestige Scientific American has, I’m more likely to believe their findings. Mr. Rushdie is less so. To quote his twitter, “To be clear: I don’t buy the @sciam article’s argument. Most creative ppl I know are hardworking and not that eccentric.” Why not, good sir?
While I would not deign to say that Mr. Rushdie has unusual or limited experience with creative individuals, I would point out that making an argument based on anecdotal evidence is iffy at best. So to avoid arguing from personal experiences, let’s look at some of the articles points.
1. Eccentric means things like seceding from the Union, or never leaving your house, and batting at invisible children when you do.
Those are pretty extreme behaviors, to be sure, and I’m not surprised that Mr. Rushdie hasn’t met people like this. I’d be inclined, if you’ll allow, to call these edge cases. Namely, the most extreme cases of eccentricity the author could dig up for his article. If we dial back to a less extreme definition, we could likely fit most creative people in one way or another. I don’t like people touching me. That’s a bit eccentric, wouldn’t you say? And it fits with the article’s definition of Schizotypal personality traits. And, hey, guess what? I’m kind of creative to boot. If you dig beyond the connotation of “eccentric,” you’ll find that what the scientists actually found was a correlation between certain traits typical of schizophrenic people and creativity. Does that bear out a little better, Mr. Rushdie?
2. Creative people let more information in.
I think any creative person could attest to the truth of this. Often we see things others don’t. We almost have to. And the studies that this article alludes to back it up. If you are noticing things others don’t, in a way you’re working with privileged information. Which in turn could well lead to “eccentric” behavior.
3. There seems to be a genetic link between creativity and schizotypal behavior. Not much to say on this one. Seems to bear out in the studies mentioned.
Nowhere does this article mention that “eccentric” behavior patterns make a person lazy. In fact, there appears to be a correlation between eccentricity and creative achievement. Granted, that may apply best to our aforementioned edge cases. I believe our good Mr. Rushdie is once again falling into the trap of reading too much into the connotation of “eccentric.” I don’t think it was the author’s intent to paint creatives as lazy people too busy battling their quirks to do anything useful.
One thing I can agree with Mr. Rushdie on comes from another tweet: “This idea of artists as Don Schizote types is hackneyed and worn-out even if dressed up in new scientific clothes.” While I do think we are a bit on the odd side, being creative is by no means a license to be weird. Just as it’s not an excuse to drink yourself to death, take massive amounts of psychoactive drugs, or parade around in a bowler hat and mutton-chop sideburns. The ideal of the damaged writer is a tired trope, and it’s only getting in our way.
So what do we take away from all this? Be weird, but don’t use it as an excuse. You’re doing a job, just like the guy digging ditches and filing papers. And maybe take a science class or two. And watch out for your emotions, they tend to get in the way of clear thinking.
One last thing: That’s a lot to pull out of two tweets, I know, but hey, I’m an English Major. We’re trained to blather over the smallest things. Oh, and Mr. Rushdie, I loved The Moore’s Last Sigh and I have nothing but respect for you.
Related articles
- Scientific American on Creative People (callumjameshackett.wordpress.com)
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