I have to admit I was surprised when I saw this question for the first time. Is creativity dangerous?? I suppose it goes back to the common myth of the starving/suffering artist.
The short answer is both yes and no.
It can be, especially if you buy into the myth that all artists/writers/creatives are drug addicts or alcoholics. (Let’s disabuse that right now. We’re not.)
There is, unfortunately, some relatively recent examples of this.
In his book On Writing, Stephen King admitted he doesn’t remember writing Cujo because of alcohol.
Julia Cameron, novelist and playwright famous for The Artist’s Way, has said at one point, she did not know if she could create without the crutch of alcohol.
These are two extreme examples. I think it’s important, too, to realize they overcame their dependence and are just as strong — if not stronger — on the other side of it.
Before you start using anything — even caffeine — as a creativity crutch, I would encourage you to examine your motivations. Can you create just as well or better without it? Do you feel like you absolutely have to have it before you can do anything?
Do what you can to avoid any kind of chemical dependence. (I’m obviously not talking about prescriptions you may need to function without depression, anxiety, or any other physical or mental health issue.)
So is creativity dangerous?
Not inherently, no. Depending on what you bring to it, it can appear to be. However, creativity, in my opinion, is a natural state of being. In fact, we often create without knowing it.
No. I do not think creativity is dangerous.
I don’t think creativity is dangerous either. They are able to “think outside of the norm or the box” and come up with new & better ways of doing things that are faster & more efficient or in the case of the yarn world neater and prettier.
I agree with Roy & Lily, most people are very conventional (super uptight and straight laced if you will) and unfortunately many tend to just the book by it’s cover, without ever really getting to know what’s inside.
I’ve always been perceived as being “out of the norm” and that’s quite alright with me.
Creative people solve the world’s problems. What is dangerous is straight-laced people are so stuck in their beliefs and ways of being, they stifle the artistic among us. The inventors, the change makers.
Creativity is a life saver.
I agree with Roy. Most people are very conventional. They can cause creative people alot of trouble. Take for instance the growing of food in the front yard. Well, that is just unheard of, I’ve been told. I grow food in my front yard in raised beds. My neighbour calls them coffins. She calls me wacko, too. I don’t need to go on.
Actually, creativity is dangerous. If one is working for a straight-laced firm, you will be perceived as out-of-the-norm.