Friday, May 05, 2017

Neuro-atypicality and Creativity

I have written before about copiers vs. innovators, and I have argued that autistics are in the innovator class. But I don't want people to misunderstand me. If, as I have argued, innovators make up about 20% of the population, that's going to be many more kinds of people than autistics.

No, it's not just autistics, but those with ADD/ADHD, bipolars, schizophrenics, dyslexics, depressives, and those with chronic anxiety. That's 20% of the population. That's the primary creative pool.

The secondary creative pool are those who come up with a good idea or two.

The sociopaths are the primary destroyers in society--from legislatures to boardrooms. Some of the worst-performing-yet-most-sought-after CEOs are sociopaths. They charm their way out of their destructiveness. So do politicians.

Fortunately, we are talking 1-2% destroyers against 20% creators. Many of those creators are taken out of commission by their own issues, by the prejudices of others, and by various regulations acting as barriers to their innovations.

The problem is that the sociopaths are charmers, and the majority population is both conservative in the sense of hating innovations and prone to being charmed. We creators aren't really all that charming. We're socially awkward, arrogant, and generally pretty damn annoying. With that kind of PR it's a testimony to the value of what we do that it can overcome our personalities.

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