SINCE the scientist and novelist C. P. Snow decried the breakdown in communication between the sciences and humanities nearly half a century ago, many have tried to bridge the gap between the 鈥渢wo cultures鈥� 鈥� usually with precious little success. However, it seems both sides do swing to the same tune when it comes to the creative act of generating ideas.
Creativity appears to follow much the same cognitive and emotional process whichever discipline you are working in. As part of our special coverage this week (鈥淐reative Minds鈥�), the historian of science Arthur Miller describes how both Albert Einstein鈥檚 theory of relativity and Pablo Picasso鈥檚 ideas on cubism were motivated by the same quest: to understand and characterise the nature of space. He also shows how scientists and artists regularly use each other鈥檚 ideas for inspiration.
The study of creativity is helping to build bridges in another area. One of neuroscience鈥檚 biggest problems is the linking of brain states to the subjective experiences that cause them. Neuroscientists looking at the brain activity in people involved in creative acts have identified two separate states: one relaxed with a low level of cortical arousal; the other busier, suggestive of more organised thinking. When we asked various songwriters about how they felt when writing, they too described two distinct states of mind. One was non-thinking and emotional, the other more analytical and organising. 鈥淭wo different brains鈥� is how one described it.
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We are not claiming to have united the two cultures. But it鈥檚 a small step towards understanding how the other half thinks.
