Phil/Psych 447

Seminar in Cognitive Science

Week 10

Tuesday: Molecules and Madness

Discussion Questions for Keri: Genes for Psychosis and Creativity

1. What did you find confusing or hard to understand in this paper?
2. Are there really "genes for" psychosis or creativity?
3. Why are so many poets prone to depression and suicide?
4. Why are so many fiction writers prone to alcoholism?
5. Is schizophrenia connected with creativity in the same way that manic-depression is?
6. Why aren't scientists and inventors as prone to mental illness as writers?
7. Would genetic screening for mental illness reduce overall human creativity?

Thursday: Improving Creativity

Discussion Questions for Catmull: How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity

1. What did you find confusing or hard to understand in this paper?
2. Can drugs (caffeine, amphetamines, etc.) increase creativity?
3. Could genetic engineering make humans more creative?
4. What brain mechanisms can be altered to improve creativity?
5. What psychological strategies can be used to increase creativity?
6. What social strategies are successful in increasing creativity?
7. What kinds of organizations are most creative?
8. Overall, what are prospects for increasing creativity? Is there an ingenuity gap?

Phil/Psych 447

Paul Thagard

Computational Epistemology Laboratory.

This page updated Nov. 16, 2009