Creativity, Intelligence & Depressive Realism eArticle

Copyright 2011 Kelli Jae Baeli Smashwords Edition AuthorKJB@gmail.com witter @JaeBaeli !SB"# $%&1'%()%'$() Smashwords Edition* +icense "otes his eBoo, is licensed -or your personal en.oyment only. his eBoo, may not /e re0sold or gi1en away to other people. !- you would li,e to share this /oo, with another person* please purchase an additional copy -or each recipient. !- you2re reading this /oo, and did not purchase it* or it was not purchased -or your use only* then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. han, you -or respecting the hard wor, othis author. Summary: Created in the 3nited States o- America 4here we can -reely create and share things.
Creativity, Intelligence & Depressive Realism

Kelli Jae Baeli 5rom a 5ace/oo, post ! made* a thought0pro1o,ing su/.ect emerged. Jae Baeli# 67appiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing ! ,now.8 9 Ernest 7emingway

Tina Harada likes this. Amanda Gulledge I frowned when I read that so I would feel more intelligent. Candace Lynn Breaux Is that why I am unhappy so much of the time "ae Baeli L!L. Amanda#you crack me up. L!L

Candy#pro$a$ly% yes. &ictoria Bard lo'e it(so true) *andi +artee hmmm(so does that mean I,m not intelligent lark) L!L) Cause I,m happy as a

! understand Sandi:s reply was meant lightly* /ut let me .ust address the topic o!ntelligence and 7appiness; ! don:t thin, the two are mutually e<clusi1e* no. here are types o- intelligence and there are always 1aria/les that a--ect outcomes. So ! would say the =uote is a rule othum/* not an a/solute. here is enough data to suggest trending toward intelligent people /eing unhappy. !t has to do with logic* pragmatism* conceptual relati1ism and other concepts /oth in and out o- the pur1iew o- philosophy and philosophical thought. !n the most common* i- not collo=uial sense* though* unhappy intelligent people are more -act0 /ased in their ideation. here is* as such* a condition ,nown as >epressi1e ?ealism* where see,ing the truth o- things@including ugly things@can cause hope-ulness and positi1ity to wane when it /ecomes apparent that sur1i1al is indeed hard* people are indeed cruel and e1il* and li-e is indeed un-air. !t:s a/out re.ecting the cogniti1e dissonance o- optimism in the -ace o- negati1e data.A1B he human /rain understands the world through patterns. 4hen a new e<perience appears* the /rain wants to match it with a pre1ious e<perience in order to understand it. Carado<ically* that:s why there is a per1asi1e /elie- in society that creati1e andDor intelligent people are at least partially mentally ill. he pattern does* indeed* e<ist. But it can .ust as easily /e /ased on a chic,en0or0the0egg paradigm as any other. >oes creati1ity come -irst* and then depressionE >o depression0oriented people see, creati1e e<pressionE >o intelligent people tend toward a need -or creati1e e<pressionE Clearly* creati1e people need e<pression o- that creati1e impulse* they are compelled to communicate it. hey also cra1e -reedom and the leeway to thin, out o- the /o<. Business people with regular white collar .o/s* tend toward logic and pragmatism* and ha1e to punch a cloc, and stri1e to -it in. his -lies in the -ace o- a creati1e psyche* and so more creati1e people are drawn to artistic endea1or than more sterile* clinical* restricti1e li-estyles in the mainstream. So it might not /e that artists are depressed* so much as depressed people -are /etter in the arts. he newest research in this regard points to this connection /eing myth. 7owe1er* perhaps it is a =uestion o- semantics. 4hich type o- intelligence are we re-erring toE Creati1e intelligenceE Spatial intelligenceE Emotional intelligenceE Since there are also a great num/er o- di1isions in the intellectual paradigm* it /ecomes a /it con1oluted when ma,ing an emphatic statement one way or another. 5or instance* historically* we ha1e ,nown that proli-ic and gi-ted writers* artists and musicians ha1e a tendency to sel-0 destruct* either through escapism /eha1iors li,e drug use and alcoholism* or* tragically* through suicide. FAnd this is rather -rightening* considering ! am an artist* writer* and singer0songwriter. But ! thin, ! dodged that /ullet pretty wellG. Hany ha1e sought these counter0producti1e coping mechanisms due to some aspect o- /eing o1erwhelmed. 4hether the 6o1erwhelmedness8 is due to the aspects o- creati1e processes* or the realism that

re1eals ugly truths* is de/ata/le. ! thin, i- you ha1e a com/ination o- realism and sensiti1ity* which usually goes hand in hand with highly creati1e indi1iduals* you ha1e a Holoto1 Coc,tail o- potential destruction. !- you ,now how ugly things are* how un-air* and you are also 1ery sensiti1e* this can lead to the ina/ility to cope in a healthy way. he /urden /ecomes too great. Additionally* creati1e indi1iduals are o-ten alone* since acts o- creation generally ta,e place in isolation* so loneliness is a -eature within the social psychology o- the paradigm. And new research pu/lished in the online .ournal Ienome Biology has shown that loneliness can actually ma,e you ill.A2B !n research o- 20*000 genes o- /oth lonely and nonlonely people* the chronically lonely indi1iduals showed 20$ changes that resulted in immune changes* in-lammation and ad1ersely a--ected response to in-ection. !n relation to intelligence* it can /e surmised that indi1iduals with high !J e<perience a type o- ostraciKation -rom society* in that they don:t -eel li,e a 6normal8 person. his can lead to depression* since -eeling di--erent and misunderstood can /ecome a di1isi1e aspect /etween an intelligent person and the less intelligent ma.ority. !ntelligent people also ruminate more* and analyKe in-ormation more* so that it /ecomes easy to impose -eelings oisolation on e1ery situation and interaction. !- you com/ine the conditions o- /eing /oth highly intelligent and highly creati1e* the potion /ecomes a catalyst -or depression on a larger scale. Critics o- this correlation among intelligence* creati1ity and depression will say that studies done ha1e /een largely retroacti1e in that they diagnose well0,nown creati1e people o- anti=uity a-ter the -act. And yet* we understand so much more a/out symptomatology in the psychological 1ein than we did when those creati1e and intelligent people were ali1e. here is some merit in applying new understanding to the pre1iously misunderstood. 4hile there are e<ceptions to the rule* such as intelligent creati1e people who A?E happy* this condition is ameliorated* in my understanding* /y some other coping mechanismL usually* in the -orm o- some 1oluntary /elie- system that allows the creati1e and intelligent indi1idual to ignore the -arther reaches o- edi-ication@those that would suggest more reason -or unhappiness. As a coping mechanism* this is usually 1ery e--ecti1e* though it could not /e characteriKed as completely entrenched in star, reality. hus* the indi1iduals who can li1e /ehind the cloa, o- 1oluntary sel-0deception are at once more capa/le o- maintaining contentedness. And o-ten* their a/ility to do so is predicated on the lac, o- /iochemical im/alance that ma,es positi1e mindset di--icult i- not impossi/le. Met* there will always /e those who cannot accept this postulate* simply /ecause they are not a/le to e<perience it. hose who do e<perience it* will /e the ones who ha1e to accept the melancholy that comes with the pac,age# intelligence* creati1ity* and the propensity* genetic or otherwise* -or depression. hese indi1iduals might also /e una/le to reach that rose0colored0glasses posture* no matter how much they would pre-er it to /e otherwise. his is the =uagmire o- what is commonly termed !ntellectual 7onesty. he truth hurts* and some indi1iduals will always /e a/le to choose that mitigation o1er the o-ten harsh 1erities o- e<istence. NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
- this concept is addressed partly in one of my current $ooks .*upernatural Hypocrisy/ The Cogniti'e 0issonance of a God Cosmology1 2 http/33disco'ermaga4ine.com3255637an3why8 loneliness8is8$ad8for8you

han,s -or your interest in my wor,. ! hope you en.oyed it. Clease 1isit my author site or Smashwords -or more selections o- no1els* non-iction /oo,s* anthologies and stories. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A mem/er o- Iolden Crown +iterary Society* Baeli has wor,ed /oth as a -reelance editor* and as managing editor -or a Connecticut women2s press in the early $02s. Baeli had eight years o- higher education -or a B.A. in Cro-essional 4riting and Editing* which renewed her lust -or learning. She continues her interests and e<perience in editing* typography and /oo, co1er design* and en.oys sculpture* pottery and photography. "ot shac,led to one genre* she has authored 2( /oo,s* Fwith some & more in the wor,s at all timesG* and is the -ounder o- Kindred !n, 4riters !nitiati1e in >en1er* Colorado. She and partner* author Kate Ienet* run K!4! 3s Cress* and reside in "ew Oealand and >en1er* Colorado. B !s By "elli #ae Baeli

$icti n: ?esurrection Stic,s As Mou 4ere Baggage Achilles 5or.an Clethora Armchair >etecti1e (AKA Investigations Series, Book 1)
Also Known As >"A

(AKA Investigations Series, Book 2) ?andom Act o- Blindness Min P Mang# Poetry From Both Sides of My Dis osition

Soa,ing he Cillow# !roti"a for #omen #ho $ove #omen Brainmatter# !ssays, %arrative & Short Fi"tion % n&'icti n: !mmortality or Something +i,e !t !ssays, Arti"'es & B'ogs oo Huch 4orld# !ssays Bettered /y a >ead Crustacean# ()moro)s !ssays >on2t 5all in +o1e with Mour 4ords# Fa'' in $ove #ith *o)r +raft Sullied Ca.amas# A Dis"erning $es,ian on Dating, -e'ationshi s & Se. Supernatural 7ypocrisy# /he +ognitive Dissonan"e of a 0od +osmo'ogy Cosmology o- IodP Jesus FQol. 1G Cosmology o- the Bi/le FQol. 2G Cosmology o- Christianity FQol. )G Cosmology o- the >ar, Side FQol. 'G Cosmology o- Science FQol. RG Cosmology o- Atheism FQol. (G 5alling hrough the Crac,s# /he Misadvent)res of %o 1ne Famo)s 4ear A 7elmet# Inf'ammatory !ssays Crossing Caths !SS F!n Search S-G# /he Art of Dating, -e'ationshi s, & Se. for the Dis"erning $es,ian Strictly Academic St ries (y "elli #ae Baeli on'y 22 "ents on Smash3ords Becoming a Statistic Burn 7er to the Iround Chic,ens Come 7ome >in,y2s >emise 7ouse o- Escher Cun,in2s Big Ad1enture !2m Shure CA3 !S"# E<plicit +es/ian Erotica Har, o- the Almost0Beast CA3 !S"# E<plicit +es/ian Erotica SH5I CA3 !S"# E<plicit +es/ian Erotica Stomping Bees here-ore* ! Am

ristoon the !ncorrigi/le rue Blue Colors 4hen !t:s All Mou Can >o o Be All Mou Can Be C ming In )*+)&+, 7anging the Hoon Fwith Kate IenetG Juintessence Another Justice Certainly "ot a Spoon#
4)i s & 4)otes from Ke''i 5ae Bae'i

Somewhere Else Chewing Cencils#

#riting, !diting & P),'ishing in the Digita' Age

Behind the +e-t#

A)thoring the A o"a'y se

And* the as0yet0untitled Book 6 of AKA Investigations Series All /oo,s are a1aila/le -rom the author2s we/site* http#DD.ae/aeli.com* and ma.or online retailers. Hany are also a1aila/le in Kindle -ormat* and C>5 e0/oo, 1ersions can /e purchased and downloaded through the author2s site as well. he author can /e -ollowed on witter @JaeBaeli. Also 1isit her other pages# Synaptic Circus o- Jae Baeli F/logG Kindred !n, 4riters !nitiati1e Fwriter:s -orumG ?eader and Cro-essional re1iews* as well as 5eed/ac,* Craises* and 5irst0Born Children* are cheer-ully accepted 1ia her we/site . Blur(s 'r m t-e n vels ' "elli #ae Baeli Resurrecti n Stic!s (nove''a) !t2s hard enough /uilding a li-e on a new planet* /ut when you2re -aced with dissension in your own tri/e* you ha1e to decide and decide =uic,ly .ust how -ar you2re prepared to go. Si1on is hal- Bandonese* hal- human. 7er mother was one o- ten -emale sur1i1ors when their cra-t crashed on a -arm in rural Colorado. "ow she is running -rom one o- her own people* ris,ing e1erything -or lo1e and the things she /elie1es in. HoKKi,* the sel-0appointed leader o- the Bandosapiens* has his own agenda* and Si1on has .ust crossed the line. 7e2s out to -ind her* to eliminate the ris, she2s -lirting with and to assert his control once more o1er the whole tri/e. But sometimes power is a/out more than control. >oing the right thing can /e the most power-ul thing in the world...as Si1on is a/out to -ind out. !- HoKKi, doesn2t ,ill her -irst. Baggage >uring 7urricane Katrina* Catriarch >ominic 5ontaine meets his -rea,ish demise0the ru//le o- his Thurricane0proo-T mansion all around him0and no one suspects that a 1enge-ul woman came to ,ill him.

!n the a-termath o- the worst hurricane in American 7istory* the secrets held in a sa-e deposit /o< spur the 5ontaine o--spring into a .ourney o- enlightenment and sel-0disco1ery as their li1es con1erge with strangers* and the mysteries o- ,arma* hope* and synchronicity ta,e o1er. Armc-air Detective (Book 1 of AKA Investigations Series) Jo/eth S2Brien awa,ens on the -loor o- her ,itchen* her /attered -ace and the memory o- an angry 1isitor tells her that she is close to something important in her in1estigation. !n /etween this sur1eillance and deli1ering newspapers* her /elo1ed 2(2 5alcon is the scene omiddle0o-0the0night romps with a lonely socialite* who gi1es her more than she /argained -or. 7er =uest -or the truth pits her against errant hus/ands* a modern0day madam with a taste -or /lood* a horny landlady* a 1icious attac, dog* and the lies she tells hersel-. Amid these challenges* Jo/eth sta,es out her prey and runs -or her li-e* continuing the in1estigation that pulls her into close calls* une<pected allies* and more secrets. But Jo/eth has secrets o- her own* and only lo1e can e<ca1ate them. Als "n .n As D%A (Book 2 of AKA Investigations Series) "ewly ensconced in the house on Hanor +ane* Jo/eth and Choe/e are en.oying the city o- +a,ewood* Colorado and Jo/eth:s newly licensed AKA !n1estigations. A-ter a -resh start in the >en1er Hetro region* li-e seems idyllic and -ull o- promise. he dream is soon shattered /y ghosts -rom the past* appearing to tear the -a/ric o- lo1e and trust. Ac-illes $ r/an Burlington* Qermont was a city ,nown -or its near0none<istent murder rate. So when /odies /egin to appear along with a mysterious note and a humiliating gesture -rom the ,iller* local authorities scram/le to disco1er who is responsi/le. A complicated series o- e1ents points to Amy Jane Spenser as the prime suspect. She is trou/led /y sleep depri1ation and -re=uent memory lapses. 7er .o/ as a paramedic -eeds her compulsion to help people* /ut ultimately only renders her a crippled witness to the human condition. Amy struggles with dou/t o1er her own mysterious /eha1ior* and is le-t with no ali/i -or any o- the murders. 7er -riend* Karma* uses her degree in Criminal Csychology and a gi-t -or psychometry to search -or clues to Amy2s innocence* in spite o- a persistent detecti1e. he suspense /uilds as li1es intertwine* and destinies dangle precariously o1er an a/yss o- secrets and suppositions* until nothing can e1er /e the same again. As 0 u 1ere ru* a per-orming singer0songwriter* and Brittany* a photographer* shared a /eauti-ul home on Castle Hountain in Colorado* en.oyed horse/ac, riding in the snow0laden hills* and romantic nights in -ront o- the -ireplace. But when an a1erage day ends in a tragic accident* ru must em/ar, upon a =uest to regain the li-e she once had with her lo1er* while sinister outsiders ta,e ad1antage o- the precarious situation. Mearning* re1elations* and lur,ing danger pull at the threads o- a once0idyllic li-e. As Mou 4ere is a romantic story dri1en /y mystery and suspense. 2let- ra

Brenna Clay* a =uir,y /ise<ual author* escapes with her lo1er to the remote SKar, area o- 7ogscald. Brenna easily /ecomes distracted /y the machinations o- her proposed utopia00a place where Hother "ature is not always nurturing* and her nearest neigh/or li1es in a treehouse and thin,s she2s /een inseminated /y aliens. As an added /it oentertainment* the Bu//a2s ha1e out their /inoculars* and are watching -rom the ,noll* ha1ing ne1er seen a real* li1e T+eK/ean 7omo0Se,0shul.T Heanwhile* Hicah ?ose ?oyce li1es in Eure,a Springs and wor,s as a masseuse. 5resh o-- a prolonged disa/ility* she is an<ious to -eel human again* /ut has di--iculty getting started. Hicah2s social li-e almost magically increases* yet she -inds the choices -raught with peril. hings are complicated /y her tendency to gi1e in to her se<ual appetite. She trudges through the e<asperating and o-ten comical dating scene in real li-e and on the !nternet* still desperately searching -or a suita/le partner.E Ran3 m Act ' Blin3ness !n this erotic no1ella* ?achel +eeds is a repressed literature pro-essor who struggles with ta/oo -antasies that in1ade her se<ual identity with raKor0sharp intensity. Just as ?achel2s answers /egin to o1erpower her =uestions* she crosses paths with a cle1er young les/ian who isn2t who she appears to /e* and manages to turn her staid academia into a -irestorm o- desire* pulling at the threads o- ?achel2s care-ully controlled e<istence. ?andom Act o- Blindness is a steamy les/ian tale that ta,es an o-ten super-icial genre* and im/ues it with elo=uence* and multi0dimensional -acetsL Baeli has created characters a reader can truly in1est in and care a/out. 9K!4! Clu/ ?e1iews