Sanity is primarily an invented measurement by society largely to make its members conform to expectations…if we don’t meet sanity standards we are often considered abnormal or a misfit….however being “outside the box” can be a source of freedom and creativity …unfortunately,when we make excessive efforts beyond our ability to conform , it can result in deep despair and be its own source of insanity.
“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”. ~Steve Jobs
In a mad world, only the mad are sane. ~ Akira Kurosawa
There was never a genius without a tincture of madness.~ Aristole
In a completely sane world, madness is the only freedom! ~ J G Ballard
The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success. ~ Bruce Feirstein
I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity. ~ Edgar Allan Poe
No man is sane who does not know how to be insane on proper occasions. ~ Henry Ward Beecher
For me, insanity is super sanity. The normal is psychotic. Normal means lack of imagination, lack of creativity. ~ Jean Dubuffet
There is a pleasure, sure, In being mad, which none but madmen know! ~ John Dryden
When we remember that we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained. ~ Mark Twain
Insanity destroys reason, but not wit. ~ Nathaniel Emmons
Hi Phyllis,
I am sorry if I gave the impression I was referring to mental illness in this blog…instead my focus was on unconventional and eccentric behavior.
Please refer to my blog on “Bipolar Personalities” for a clearer description of a psychological disorder.
Sid
I can see why madness can be praised by some; it, in some cases, may allow complete and utter freedom of thought, thinking in an uncultured style, the development of ideas that may have never been concieved by others, but there is an obvious downside: it would seem that you are in a spiraling vortex of oblivion; you wouldn’t be able to percieve, both mentally, visually and physically, everything around you. This may sound like the terrible “Alice in Wonderland” syndrome, but from what I’ve seen in true cases, I would say insanity is still up in the air as to whether it is prefereable or not.