Next time you’re getting vexed that someone next to you is loudly munching and crunching on their food, don't fret – it could just be your creative brain.
You’re not alone either: Many people given the label “genius” are often reported to be troubled and distracted by noise, such as Charles Darwin, Marcel Proust, and Anton Chekhov. Franz Kafka even once said: “I need solitude for my writing; not ‘like a hermit’ – that wouldn’t be enough – but like a dead man.”

Research by Northwestern University found that there is a link between creativity and an inability to filter out irrelevant noises. The study, published in
Neuropsychologia in March, looked at the link between creative thinkers and different levels of "sensory gating," the involuntary neurological process that filters out unnecessary or irrelevant stimuli.

The researchers asked 97 participants to fill out a questionnaire called Creative Achievement Questionnaire, which assessed their real-world achievements in creative domains. They were also asked to perform a divergent thinking test, a technique commonly used in laboratories to assess creative cognition.

In a separate test, the participants were played a series of short beeps while scientists measured their brain activity, recording the involuntary neurophysiological response that occurs 50 milliseconds after an auditory stimulus.

Analyzing all this information showed that creative people were more sensitive to sound distraction. The study suggested that people with “leaky” sensory gating tended to be more creative as they have an ability to deploy attention over a larger range of stimuli. This increased input can lead to a richer and more nuanced experience, which can also help hone their ability to create associations with distant concepts or ideas.

Since “leaky” sensory gating happens early in brain processing and may help people integrate ideas that are outside their main focus of attention, a reduced ability to filter out the irrelevant things may lead to creativity in the real world, said Darya Zabelina, lead author of the study, in a statement.
She added, “If funneled in the right direction, these sensitivities can make life more rich and meaningful, giving experiences more subtlety.”

Of course, with less than 100 participants, this is a pretty small study to draw wide conclusions from. Furthermore, creativity is a very subjective thing to measure and not necessarily something a questionnaire can capture. So, if you’re getting stressed at the guy sitting next to you with blaring headphones, we don’t suggest you start professing your genius to him.

Source : Iflscience

I really hate it when people chew loudly. Itsbreally uncourteous and mannerless.

I could slap a younger person for it and excuse an older person for it.

Its really really disturbing fah

People should stop it

Nice post, my dear. I agree somehow. Intelligent people are more wont to being distracted by a lot of things.

i don't agree with this post. @khalhokage.

okay, granted, i'm never around people who crunch loudly. so i've never had to know if i like people chewing loudly or not. however, i went to a government secondary school. in my class, there were about 200 students in the same room. i need not tell you how freaking noisy secondary school kids are. every day, i resumed to mind boggling noise from 200 humans shouting on the top of their voice about things that range from makeup to sex to movies to games to religion to science . . . what have you.

what can man do? of course, in the midst of the noise, have come my best works. my best novels, my best poems, the noise made me into what i am today. and today, i actually can't think in silence. my brain just doesn't work that way. i have to actually listen to something. maybe a loud song, or something, before i get creative. every of my inspirations come when i'm listening to music or when i'm in a very noisy area. how about that?

my conclusion is that this is not really accurate. it might be statistically significant, but there are several exceptions to the rule.

i hope you don't get too offended.

the person above me have a point

Teempakguy:
i don't agree with this post. @khalhokage.

okay, granted, i'm never around people who crunch loudly. so i've never had to know if i like people chewing loudly or not. however, i went to a government secondary school. in my class, there were about 200 students in the same room. i need not tell you how freaking noisy secondary school kids are. every day, i resumed to mind boggling noise from 200 humans shouting on the top of their voice about things that range from makeup to sex to movies to games to religion to science . . . what have you.

what can man do? of course, in the midst of the noise, have come my best works. my best novels, my best poems, the noise made me into what i am today. and today, i actually can't think in silence. my brain just doesn't work that way. i have to actually listen to something. maybe a loud song, or something, before i get creative. every of my inspirations come when i'm listening to music or when i'm in a very noisy area. how about that?

my conclusion is that this is not really accurate. it might be statistically significant, but there are several exceptions to the rule.

i hope you don't get too offended.

I'm not offended Bro, remember there's a disclaimer at the end of the article, and also this would be an indication of who is most likely to be a genius but not who isn't.

khalhokage:


I'm not offended Bro, remember there's a disclaimer at the end of the article, and also this would be an indication of who is most likely to be a genius but not who isn't.

oh thank god. i was afraid you were going to reply with a textbook.