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

November 5, 2008

Are conservatives less creative than liberals?

Barack Obama is the new President-elect of the United States. While certainly this is a historic moment for many reasons, I'd like to focus on a potentially overlooked outcome of this historical moment: With a liberal back in the White House, America will become more creative.

How can I be so optimistic that Obama, and the new liberalism he will bring to the White House will spur creativity and increase our appreciation for individuality in America?

New research suggests that I may be right. Read More

November 3, 2008

Introducing Conversations on Creativity (Starting with Writer Piers Anthony)

It's time to see how much the research I've presented on intelligence and creativity matches up with how creative people actually go about their business. I introduce here a new series on my blog called Conversations on Creativity. I will seek out the most creative people of our generation and have conversations with them about creativity. My conversations begin with the acclaimed science fiction writer Piers Anthony. Read More

October 24, 2008

Straight Talk about Twin Studies, Genes, and Parenting: What Makes Us Who We Are

Findings from twin studies are often misunderstood, misinterpreted, and blown out of proportion.To put things in perspective, I teamed up with the well-known developmental psychologist David S. Moore to list 8 facts about genes, twin studies, and the heritability statistic that may come as a surprise to many people-even biologists! We hope these facts will help clarify past and future misunderstandings. Read More

October 3, 2008

Lindsay Lohan: Manufactured by Mattel, Made Randy by Evolution

Redheads

Why do redheads have more sex? Because men want to have sex with redheads. Why do men want to have sex with redheads?

Cutting edge research sheds light on these important questions.

September 30, 2008

IQ Bashing, Breakdancing, The Flynn Effect, and Genes

Some people, including journalists and scientists, think that the Flynn effect-- the finding that IQ rose steadily during the 20th century--proves that genes play little to no role in explaining differences in IQ. But how can this be? Twin studies show that genetic differences explain an awful lot of the variation in IQ. The key to this puzzle is understanding what will happen when breakdancers take over the world.

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September 22, 2008

Are you smarter than Aristotle?: On the Flynn Effect and the Aristotle Paradox

The Flynn Effect -- the finding that IQ rose quite a bit during the 20th century -- raises quite a few paradoxes. Working backwards, the average IQ of people living in 1900 would be just under 70. Working even further backwards, Aristotle's IQ can be estimated to have been -1000.

How can this be? Are you really smarter than Aristotle? Read on. Read More

August 22, 2008

On Being in "The Friend Zone"

"I think we should just be friends."

Seven of the most horrifying words a women could ever utter to a man.

In light of Michael Formica's recent post on Pornography, Emotional Availability, and Female Objectification, I see the meaning of "The Friend Zone" in a whole new light. Read More

August 16, 2008

Are you smarter than Aristotle? Part I.

Aristotle, a founding father of Western Philosophy was a genius, right? Actually, I did the calculation and it turns out you are smarter than Aristotle. Not only smarter, but according to the calculation, Aristotle wouldn't understand a word coming out of your mouth. Confused? So are a lot of intelligence researchers. Read on. Read More

July 29, 2008

The Nature of Genius III: The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer

We live in a society where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This idea is commonplace in discussions of economic inequality. Recent research, from a variety of different disciplines, is showing how this idea also applies to the development of genius in subtle but shocking ways.

July 8, 2008

The Nature of Genius II: On Late Bloomers and Ugly Ducklings

In the "Ugly Duckling", a young swan goes from awkward and ugly to graceful and beautiful. This kind of transformation is also seen in abilities, and those who go from average to extraordinary are typically labelled "late bloomers". How are late bloomers possible? How can a nuanced understanding of genes contribute to our understanding? Read More

Books by Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D.

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?

Go to the Creativity Basics page for more on Creativity including:

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Books by Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D.

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