Left handed creativity?

Some people believe that left handed people are more creative and/or intelligent.  Some people who are considered highly creative who are left handed are Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, H.G. Wells, Lewis Carroll, Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Michael Angelo, Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci, Charlie Chaplin, Jim Henson, and Julia Roberts.  A 1988 study showed that only 7-10 percent of the population is left handed.  I have not come across any scientific studies concerning this belief, but I have given it some thought and come up with some Hypothesis that support this.  First of all many of the everyday things that we do with our hands are made to cater to right handed people.  One example of this is how we write from left to right, door knobs are on the right side or doors, driving (shift is on the right hand side), Scissors are most often made for right handed people, and many instruments are made to be played by right handed people.  This means that left handed people are forced to come up with creative ways to use things that are not necessarily geared toward use for the left hand.  Left handedness has been stigmatized in many cultures and is even considered wrong.  For example in both Norwegian and Scottish the word for left handed implies clumsiness or sloppiness.  In many middle eastern countries the right hand is used for eating and the left hand is used for cleaning ones self after using the bathroom.  The word for left in welsh mean awkward or wrong.  This suggests to me that people who use their left hand are more likely not to follow society's norms and do things in a different way.  This tendency toward novelty could mean that left handed people have a tendency toward creativity.  Although this has never been proven, it is a very interesting idea that cannot be completely discredited. 

Drugs and Creativity

There is definitely a belief by many people that there is  a correlation between drugs and creativity.  Artists such as Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, David Bowie, and Bob Dylan were known to have been regular users of drugs such as Marijuana and LSD.  Drugs change the way things are perceived and one's thought process, so it would make sense that they would help the creative process.  While it seems like drugs would help creativity, there really has not been any evidence that this is so in studies.  There also have not been many studies conducted on the impact that drugs have on the creative process, so one really can't come to an absolute conclusion on the subject.  It seems to me personally that there would be some kind of correlation- for example The Beatles' Yellow Submarine was inspired by an acid trip, and it does not seem that any one in a normal state of mind could produce such a work.  It is also reported that Jimi Hendrix put a small cut on his forehead and placed a hit of acid on it and placed his lucky headband over it before his shows.  It is hard to deny that Jimi Hendrix is a creative genius and it seems like his unique style may have something to do with his drug use.  I am not suggesting that any of my opinions are facts or have research to back them up, they are merely my opinions.  I do however think that more research should be done concerning this, before scientists come to conclusions about the correlation between drugs and creativity.  I believe that this has not occurred because if there is a correlation found between the two, it may encourage drug use among creative peoples or those who wish to be creative.

Here is a clip from The Beatles' Yellow Submarine

Creativity, or lack there of, in mainstream movies.

Think back to all of the so called "chick flick" love stories you have watched throughout your life.  Notice how many (not all) have very similar story lines.  They meet, not expecting to fall in love, fall in love, there is a misunderstanding or some kind of conflict, then they make up in the end.  I have seen this happen in movie after movie.  For example- How to lose a guy in 10 days, She's all that, Failure to Launch, and 10 things I hate about you.  This happens over and over in Blockbuster hits, but people seem to never get sick of it.  One would view movie making as an art form and highly creative, but because the movie industry is based on revenue, movie makers have to give their audience what they want.  I do think that some blockbuster hits are successful because of their creative aspects, because it is something new and exciting, but more often we see the same pattern of plot lines over and over.

Do Memes Play A Role In Creativity?

A meme is anything that can be transmitted from one human being to another and mimicked.  A meme can be a catchy song, a phrase, a religious belief, an idea, an accent, etc...  One must wonder what role memes play in creativity, or if they play a role in creativity at all.  When first pondering this one may come to the conclusion that memes cannot play a role in creativity because half of creativity is creating something that is novel.  Susan Blackmore (the scientist who saw value in Dawkins' theory of the meme) suggests that memes play a huge role in creativity.  She believes that creativity is part of an evolutionary process where memes are taken and reinvented and presented at new angles and approaches.  She believes that the most creative of human beings are those who are best at copying memes and recombining them.  This is a very interesting concept to me that makes sense, but at the same time contradicts the whole idea of creativity at the same time.  I do not believe that one can blatantly deny that this theory may be of some value.