The Link Between Genius and Insanity

An anonymous reader writes in a story about the link between certain mental illnesses and high intelligence. "Genius and insanity may actually go together, according to scientists who found that mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are often found in highly creative and intelligent people. The link is being investigated by a group of scientists who had all suffered some form of mental disorder. Bipolar sufferer Kay Redfield Jamison, a clinical psychologist and professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said that findings of some 20 or 30 scientific studies confirms the idea of the 'tortured genius' or 'mad scientist.'"

Comments

Physician heal thyself

[TapeCutter]

One thing I have noticed is that bipolar people who lack any employable skills/qualifications (eg my ex-wife of 20yrs) tend to be strongly attracted to the idea of being a counsellor and firmly believe they can 'fix' other people's mental problems, expecially when they are in the "up" phase. Since anyone can call themselves a counsellor without any formal training, that's what they do. Some may say that this is an undesirable situation but from my anecdotal observations I think keeping all the nutters busy talking to each other is ultimately a huge benifit to society