Culture
If You’re Sensitive To Sound, You Could Be A Creative Genius
Scientists believe geniuses like Darwin, Proust and Chekhov were all unable to filter out atmospheric noise.
Do you find yourself distracted by atmospheric noise? Well, don’t worry: not only are you joined by a pretty impressive list of geniuses like Kafka and Darwin, but according to new research, their alleged inability to filter out noise and irrelevant sensory information may hold the key to understanding creativity.
Scientists at Northwestern University have been researching the connection between sensitivity to sound and creative achievement. They tested 100 individuals’ capacity to solve problems and found that strong links exist between creativity and having “leaky” sensory gating—the inability to ignore atmospheric audio stimuli. The research, published in the journal Neuropsychologia, suggests that a heightened awareness to noise is associated with an ability to focus on a wide range of things simultaneously.
This only adds an extra dimension to John Cage’s totally silent 4’33”. “Listen” to it below and read more about Northwestern University’s research here.
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Read more: Watch how Deru overcomes creative difficulties in the studio
