Schizophrenia, memory loss, hallucinations: what the greats paid for their genius
Schizophrenia, memory loss, hallucinations: what the greats paid for their genius

Video: Schizophrenia, memory loss, hallucinations: what the greats paid for their genius

Video: Schizophrenia, memory loss, hallucinations: what the greats paid for their genius
Video: The Uncanny - Object a and Anxiety in Freud and Lacan - YouTube 2024, November
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Genius madmen Isaac Newton and Jonathan Swift
Genius madmen Isaac Newton and Jonathan Swift

Genius often coexists with insanity, and sometimes it is difficult to find the line that separates a talented work of art or revolutionary scientific discovery from crazy ideas dictated by a morbid imagination. Many brilliant scientists, composers, writers, artists suffered from mental disorders, which, nevertheless, did not prevent them from making discoveries and creating masterpieces. What did you have to pay for your own genius Newton, Ampere, Nietzsche, Swift, Schumann and other great ones?

Enoch Simen Jr. Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, circa 1726
Enoch Simen Jr. Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, circa 1726

According to research by psychologists, the overwhelming majority of outstanding personalities who have left a significant mark in the history of mankind have symptoms of various mental illnesses. This gives some scientists a reason to argue that genius is a form of insanity.

Enoch Simen Jr. Isaac Newton, 1726
Enoch Simen Jr. Isaac Newton, 1726

Isaac Newton, the author of the law of universal gravitation, suffered from aprosexia - a complete loss of attention. One day he wanted to boil an egg and took a watch to keep track of the time. A few minutes later, he found himself cooking a watch and holding an egg in his hands. He often forgot what he had eaten and wondered who had eaten his dinner. Once he forgot to extinguish the candle when leaving home, as a result of which there was a fire that destroyed almost all of his manuscripts. Some researchers believe that these were manifestations of autism: Newton often closed in on himself, forgot to eat, repeated the same phrases in dialogue, etc.

André-Marie Ampere
André-Marie Ampere

The famous French physicist, one of the founders of electrodynamics, André-Marie Ampere suffered from lacunar dementia, a special form of dementia characterized by impaired memory and attention. Once, leaving home, he left a note on the door: "The owner will be home only in the evening." Returning in the afternoon, he read this message and left to wander until the evening - to await the return of the owner.

Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift

Prominent writer Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, suffered from Alzheimer's. He had memory lapses, dizziness, he often lost orientation in space and did not recognize people, ceased to understand the meaning of the interlocutor's speech. As a result, this led to complete dementia.

Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann

The great German composer Robert Schumann suffered from attacks of insanity from the age of 24 - he was tormented by hallucinations, he saw sounds that formed chords, he heard objects talking. He finished his days in a psychiatric clinic.

Gustav Zerner. Robert Schumann
Gustav Zerner. Robert Schumann
Friedrich Nietzsche. Photo, 1875
Friedrich Nietzsche. Photo, 1875

Friedrich Nietzsche suffered from nuclear mosaic schizophrenia, a rare disorder, the symptoms of which were delusions of grandeur, clouding of the mind, and severe headaches. The great philosopher spent the last 11 years of his life in a specialized hospital.

Madmen of genius Friedrich Nietzsche and Robert Schumann
Madmen of genius Friedrich Nietzsche and Robert Schumann
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche

This list could be continued - genius and madness always go hand in hand. This is evidenced by shocking antics of great artists

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