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September 21, 2007
The visionary and the nutjob
The brain activity of people like Ray Kurzweil, Akio Morita, Alice Waters, Burt Rutan or even Kyle MacDonald is vastly different than most people.
It probably looks a lot like the brain on the left.
Recent brain mapping by a researcher at Arizona State University finds that visionaries use more of their occipital lobe, the visual processing center of the brain, than most people.
Visionaries can "see" the connections between points A and M like a map. When point M is something that hasn't yet been done before hasn't been created, the Rutans and Moritas of the world make it happen.
Along the way, they hear: Can't be done. You're making huge assumptions. Are you crazy? You're a freakin' nutjob.
If you're an entrepreneur or change agent intent on creating something new, or reinventing a conventional idea, or simply discarding systems that no longer work, you've probably heard the criticisms.
Just remember that their vision isn't as good as yours.
Other blogs that reference The visionary and the nutjob:
» Brain Activity of the Visionary from Graham Chastney (oak-grove)
Ever been running a My Brain category for some time now. It started with the question of whether it was possible to "strengthen" your brain. Steve lent me Making a Good Brain Great by Daniel Amen which talks a lot [Read More]
thats good . !
you have to take risks , in the market. nevertheless , you cant grow , anymore . it depends all on you how you take these things!
Problem is, I bet the nutjob's brain scan looks like the one on the left, too.
Is it a good idea to teach "non-visionary" people that they're "different", thereby giving them an excuse for reduced achievement? I think all humans have the capacity to be a visionary in their skill set of choice.
This is like teaching black kids they were born to be violent, or teaching gay kids they were born to get a disease. It smacks of elitism, ignorance, and social control tactics.... Teach the American people they were born dumb, born as "less than equal" to the "visionaries" they must therefore rely upon and obey, and they'll behave accordingly!
I have no doubt the data is reliable, but I question the importance of it as described.
It is ignorant to think that this isn't valuable information. It is useful to know why my brain functions the way it does, while my wife's brain is more practically structured to remember where I put my keys. I can now approach her with a better level of understanding because my motive is to do so. If I wanted to use information like a crutch, that is my problem.
The data smacks of nothing - the motives of those that cry "foul" are more in question than anything.
Very interesting stuff! Has anyone done the same study on kids? It seems to me that kids have a natural ability to invent and envision lots of stuff. My 4.5 year old has a great imagination and invents all sorts of cool stuff in his mind. I wonder if being visionary is something we're born with, and then it gradually fades away (or we're trained to inhibit it).
