Beautiful Minds

Musings on Intelligence and Creativity in Society

Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D. is a cognitive psychologist and writer based in New York City. See full bio

April 19, 2009

Susan Boyle: From Not To Hot

I really enjoyed reading Bella DePaulo's recent post about Susan Boyle. I was particularly intrigued, however, by one readers comment. SharonC writes: "And I'm sure that we all have met an "ugly" person who, as we got to know them, became quite beautiful in our eyes." Can our perceptions of someone's physical attractiveness really increase or decrease after we get to know more about their non-physical traits? There is some really fascinating research on this topic. Read More

March 20, 2009

Are People With Schizophrenia Living a Dream?

In the most recent issue of Psychology Today (March-April 2009), Josie Glausiusz wrote a terrific piece ("Devoted to Distraction") about the potential adaptive benefits of daydreaming and the default network in the brain that is active during such flights of fancy. The article got me thinking about some recent research on the relation between the default network and schizophrenia. These findings raise the intriguing possibility that people with schizophrenia are always night-dreaming--even when they are awake. The implications here are huge. Not just for understanding theory of mind, autism, Alzheimer's, and morality, but also for creativity. Read More

March 3, 2009

Schizophrenic Thought: Madness or Potential for Genius?

Many people with schizophrenia have difficulty sorting out their emotions, often becoming overwhelmed with the influx of emotions they are experiencing. Since a lot of these emotions may be intuitions that are actually accurate, some people with schizophrenia may actually have a greater chance of making a creative connection than someone without schizophrenia. A recent journal article shows a connection in a group of high-achieving adolescents between this flooding of information and faith in intuition. This research, along with other recent findings suggest that it's time to fundamentally re-conceptualize the thought processes of people with schizophrenia, not as madness but as potential for creative greatness. Read More

February 24, 2009

Obama Is President So Racism Is Over. Right?

Obama is President so racism is over. Right? If you are one of the many Americans who thinks this is the case, two hot off the press articles in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology will make you think twice. Read More

February 14, 2009

Use Your Mating Intelligence

This Valentine's Day, whether you are single, in a serious relationship, or just starting a new relationship, a little Mating Intelligence can go a long way.

January 19, 2009

The Equality of the Sexes I: Fact or Artefact?

It is widely believed that the equality of general mental ability differences between men and women is purely an artefact of the way the tests were initially created. Indeed, researchers often treat this idea as fact. But is it?

December 22, 2008

The Tears of a Clown

Everyone likes a good comic. But behind every punch line is a real live human sweating profusely to get a laugh. What are these people like? How did the comic become this way, constantly pushing the limit to get a reaction from others? What motivates the comic? How do comics perceive themselves?

December 12, 2008

Composer Elliot Carter-- 100 and still blooming.

This past Thursday Elliot Carter, possibly America's greatest living composer, celebrated his 100th birthday. While most at that age reflect on their lives and their work, Carter is too busy composing. Read More

November 27, 2008

Conversations on Creativity with Repeat Bloomer Joshua Waitzkin

Remember Joshua Waitzkin, whose early chess successes were depicted in the 1993 Paramount film Searching for Bobby Fischer? What has he been up to since then? How did the movie affect his life? What was the impact of being labelled a "child prodigy"? What are his thoughts on creativity and the learning process? I recently had a conversation with Waitzkin where we discussed these questions and more. I found his answers provocative and illuminating. Read More

November 19, 2008

Remembering Colin Martindale

R.I.P. Colin Martindale (1943-2008).

The Psychology of Creative Writing

Creativity Basics

Even those of us not in explicitly creative fields must come up with new ideas and insights in order to move ahead. How can we shake up our thinking patterns?

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