Creative Genius

Apparently when Einstein was about age 3, his parents brought him to a pediatrician because he was not yet talking. Who would believe that this four year old would later grow up to publish more than 300 scientific works, best known for his theories of special relativity and general relativity and win a Nobel Prize in 1921.

I've never really been a huge fan of maths or science but I'm fascinated by this genius, in particular theories about his brain and creative thinking. I recently found an article about the brain's creative thinking and was intrigued to discover that that Einstein had developmental dyslexia and scientists have proved that his brain was not only unique in its ability to process concepts: it was also physically different.

On analysis of Einstein's  brain the following discoveries were made to suggest he was indeed 'unique' and brimming with creativity:

•  a greater number of glial cells for each neurone, suggesting that Einstein's brain needed and used more energy.
  
• an unusual pattern of grooves in an area thought to be involved in mathematical skills. It was 15 percent wider than the other brains, suggesting that the combined effect of the differences may be better connections between nerve cells involved in mathematical abilities.
  
• an enlarged left inferior and—unlike most human beings—undivided parietal lobe
  

As well as this, Einstein himself cherished the imagination and the ideas it created, many of his inspirational quotes reflect this:

'If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.'

'We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.'

'The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.'

'Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.'

'Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.'

'I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.'

I find the significance of the imagination, a fascinating topic to explore particularly because it's something so unique and individual but also, unrestricted and spontaneous. 

There's also the line between madness and genius that seems to be a reoccurring theme.... 

So what are you thinking?

Genius?

or just mad?

 Do all creative individuals have slightly 'abnormal' brains?

Is great creative ability a stroke of genius or a stroke or madness????

Like Einstein, examples of other 'Creative Geniuses', writers, painters and composers who all sufferd from mental illness back up this theory:

John Nash

Vincent Van Gogh

Edgar Allan Poe

Beethoven 

Sir Isaac Newton

Mary Shelley

Virginia Woolf 

Ernest Hemingway

Irving Berlin

Sergey Rachmaninoff

Paul Gauguin

Jackson Pollock 

Does this mean that us creatives are very likely to suffer from a mental breakdown?

 that's nice to know.