Letters; October/November 2008; Scientific American Mind; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

Artistic Objection

¿Let Your Creativity Soar,¿ the panel discussion led by Mariette DiChristina, was a great article, but I think the experts are a little bit off when they address society¿s perception of creativity. ¿Artist¿ and ¿creative¿ are not equivalent. I do not believe Western society has a negative perception of creativity; rather there is a negative perception of financial instability and destructive behavior. It happens that artists and musicians can fall into such states. So although parents may steer their child away from painting or writing as a profession, they probably would encourage their child¿s creativity in science, computer programming or marketing, all of which can be extremely creative fields.