July 1st, 2024

The Mad Genius Mystery

Psychology Today discusses mathematician Alexander Grothendieck's reclusive life, erratic behavior, and revolutionary contributions to mathematics. The article explores the link between creativity, mental health, and his unique problem-solving approach.

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The Mad Genius Mystery

The article from Psychology Today delves into the enigmatic life of mathematician Alexander Grothendieck, renowned for his groundbreaking work in the 20th century. Grothendieck's withdrawal from the mathematical world to a secluded life in a French village puzzled many. Despite burning much of his work and exhibiting erratic behavior, he left behind a legacy of revolutionary contributions to mathematics, particularly in algebra and geometry. His unique approach to problem-solving and his ability to dissolve complex issues into new perspectives set him apart as a mathematical genius. The article explores the potential link between exceptional creativity and mental illness, drawing parallels with other historically significant mathematicians who faced psychological challenges. Grothendieck's upbringing, marked by his parents' tumultuous history, and his unconventional personal life add layers to the narrative of his exceptional career. The piece raises thought-provoking questions about the intersection of genius, mental health, and the implications for future scientific inquiry into creativity and neurobiology.

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By @illuminant - 4 months
> psychopathology, including depression, delusions, and religious mysticism of the sort engendered by psychosis.

> characterized by false beliefs in the sentience of inanimate objects and delusions about the self and others. Reading minds is the lingua franca of mentalistic cognition, and symptoms of psychosis are essentially mind-reading on steroids

What you will not admit to yourself is that your conceptions of "sanity" and "normality" are pleasant lies. Intellectuals (those living from a world within, rather than one mirroring the "out") naturally recoil.

It's not all bad, not yet, until some precipus of conception takes them through doorways of the mind through which they cannot coherently navigate (now a troglodyte in the cavern of shadows).

It is inevitable that these will stumble upon the "greatest secret of our humanity." That we are not alone in our own minds and our conservative thinking otherwise keeps us on rails.

Atrocious behavior only comes by the desperation. All Mankind has it wrong. All Humanity will deny you this Truth. Talk about frustrated flip out time.

PKD and others have the cover of art to conventionalize and glorify their insanity. Obviously, no one really knows what's going on. The craze must come by the decades of slow cook. .