The Central Intelligence Agency isn’t the sort of place that draws a lot of self-described “creative spirits.” But according to the 9/11 Commission, their presence is sorely needed. How can the CIA—and other highly convergent, formal bureaucracies—best make use of those employees who feel like square pegs in round holes?
Dopamine is about making the future better than the present. That makes contentment hard for dopaminergic people—which includes those people we call gifted and creative—to find contentment. Is there anything we can do about it? Jessie sat down with the authors of The Molecule of More to get their take.
Many pay lip service to nonconformity, but if you’re really unusual, you’ve probably struggled with the implications of deviating from the norm. How should we balance the costs and benefits of our divergence? In this issue’s introductory letter, Third Factor editor in chief Jessie Mannisto links our authors’ takes on this challenge to Eleanor Roosevelt’s writings on how to be an individual.
What does it mean to be a divergent thinker? Dr. Deirdre Lovecky of the Gifted Resource Center of New England discusses what drives these individuals to march to the beats of their own drummers—and the challenges they face while doing so.
If you want to make it as a metaphorical overexcitable astronaut, you’ve got to learn to read your instrument panel. That’s what autopsychotherapy is for.
What does it mean to be “overexcitable?” Where are we most likely to find these people? And why is it an important part of the experience of positive disintegration? Third Factor’s editors offer a basic introduction to Dabrowski’s overexcitabilities.
