IUBio

evolutionary significance of emotions !!

John H. johnhkm at netsprintXXXX.net.au
Tue Feb 29 08:19:53 EST 2000


Pam Blundell <pjw106 at york.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:89ea0d$bcj$1 at pump1.york.ac.uk...
> "John H." <johnhkm at netsprintXXXX.net.au> wrote in message
> news:88qlhh$1gq4$1 at news1.wire.net.au...
> >
> > <cerebrolat at my-deja.com> wrote in message
> > news:88p1dr$g32$1 at nnrp1.deja.com...
> > > In article <88e6a4$1h13$1 at news1.wire.net.au>,
> > >   "John H." <johnhkm at netsprintXXXX.net.au> wrote:
> > > > Clearly because depression is associated with creativity
>
> Where on earth did you get this gem from?  Depression results in people
not
> getting enjoyment out of life, not feeling motivated to do things they
> normally would, sleeping differently to normal (more or less) and thinking
> of suicide.  At no point in DSM does it say that depressed people are more
> likely to write a symphony!

Did the people writing the DSM ever bother to look? Psychology amazes me in
that so many always assume a pathology is irrevocably and globally damaging
to cognitive functions as a whole. Think of idiot savants. What is the DSM?
A bible or something? Please, that's scholasticism to the core.

There are studies indicating that writers as a group are inclined towards
dysthmia\depression and I've read enough biographies to know that something
is going on there. When Tschaikovsky wrote his 6th, his best and a
monumental piece, he was on a train and tears flooded out of him while
writing it. The 6th is mostly very sad (only 3rd movement rips along). I
prefer his Serenade for Strings and Italian Capricanno (spelling!) He got
depressed quite a bit, long story ... .

Other side: Ludwig Boltzmann, great 19th century physicist, committed
suicide mid 50's - probably mild manic depressive. Mathematicians, strange
bunch, obsessive-compulsive leanings? Go ask Godel, brilliant but kooky.
Paul Erdos, brilliant mathematician, spent last 15-20 years using
amphetamines, once quoted as saying Coffee + human beings = mathematics.
Sound healthy? Is that in the DSM?

Yes, sws is changed during depression, may be related to phase changes in
cortisol
levels during sleep. There is no "ideal" brain state for optimal cognitive
functionality. The great Irish mathematician Hamilton died of alcoholism and
malnutrition in his early 40's and was doing great work until bango dead.
You won't find that in the DSM.



John.



>
>
> <snip>
>
> > I was referring to seasonal affective disorder, a condition more
frequent
> > (?) in North European climates. The inescapable electric shock
> demonstrates
> > my point. In the face of danger that cannot be challenged, the best
> survival
> > is to hide.
>
> What has this got to do with helplessness?  When a rat is given
> uncontrollable electric shocks, it cannot subsequently learn to make an
> action which will reduce the probability of a shock.  In what way is this
> adaptive?  Strangely enough, theres more seasonal effective disorder when
> there is less sunlight in the winter months - hence Northern European
(don't
> know the stats for Canada - I presume they have the same problem?)
>
>
>
>








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