But I saw this in my inbox this afternoon, and I couldn't resist.
Scientific American posted an article called "Does Falling in Love Make Us More Creative?", and the short answer is yes. The reasoning behind it is that thinking about love (as opposed to just sex or nothing at all) triggers global processing. We tend to think farther ahead when we think about love - lifetime commitments, companionship, til death do us part. Whereas, sex triggers local processing (where is the nearest bed, and how fast can I get to it?)
Global processing allows a broader overview, which promotes creativity and hinders analytical thinking. Local processing does just the opposite - it focuses on logic and the concrete.
They did some really cool experiments with GRE tests and questions that I'll let you read about, if you want. But I loved both the sentences below.
"One of the most noteworthy implications of these experiments is that love and sex don’t simply influence the way we think about the people we love or desire. Instead, they influence the way we think about everything.
The takeaway lesson is that thinking about love, or anything that promotes a distal perspective or global processing, can make us more creative. Perhaps love is an especially potent way to induce in us a sense of transcendence – being in the here and now yet also contemplating the distant future and maybe even eternity."
Here's to love! And creativity! Who wants to paint another Mona Lisa?
