Re: Mental Disturbance and Creative Achievement

Rohit Khare (khare@w3.org)
Thu, 4 Sep 1997 18:40:30 -0400 (EDT)


> I may be reading too much into what you've said

Joe, Joe, Joe... (Joe x 3, right?)

OF COURSE, you're reading too much into it. It's MY list, I get to be
the self-centered bastard -- he's talking about me.

> Some of what you've written makes it
> sound like I would choose misery simply because it's an easy source of
> inspiration to tap into???

Nope, he's talking about my chronic celebration of dysthymia. I *think*
I have a mildly depressive or developing mild bipolar mood disorder,
but regardless of the cause, I have been celebrating misanthropy and
misery for a long time.

And it is an easy boost to productivity. Over this summer, I think I have
easily lost an order of magnitude more time to mopping up (moping up?) for
every hour spent with women.

> More succinctly - hold me responsible for my actions, but not for the
> underlying depression. Or do you disagree?

I agree, and I think we all do: that's end-case of moral decisions: the
act, not the reasoning.

Rohit