The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #16966   Message #161626
Posted By: Pete Peterson
12-Jan-00 - 09:38 AM
Thread Name: Drugs and Creativity
Subject: RE: Drugs and ''Creativity''
I believe everybody looks at the line
caffeine--tobacco--alcohol--pot--cocaine--heroin
(those will do for a start) and draws the line somehow to say Well I'm a Good Guy, but you're over the line. They're all drugs. I could tell you the choice I have made for myself, but it may not be the choice others make. Two of my friends are good songwriters, and both have told me that their best creativity was achieved when stoned. Well maybe it works for them, but I didn't see any controlled experiments here.
I have been interested for many years on what constitutes "creativity" and like Douglas Hofstadter's idea that "making variations on a theme is the heart of creativity". . . it might be that a substance that removes inhibitions would allow somebody to see connections not normally perceived. The first law of toxicology is "dose determines poison"-- for any drug, there will be a level with no effect, a higher level where the maximum good effects are achieved, and a still higher level where the toxic side effects overwhelm the theraputic effects. . . might the same be true for alcohol and pot? Personally I am afraid to find out, and equally unwilling to make rules for other people.