The speaker’s contention also finds ample empirical support in certain forms of artistic
accomplishment and scientific invention. History is replete with evidence that our most gifted
musical composers are young, relatively inexperienced, individuals. Notables ranging from
Mozart to McCartney come immediately to mind. Similarly, the wide-eyed wonder of
inexperience seems to spur scientific innovation. Consider the science fiction writer Jules
Veme, who through pure imagination devised highly specific methods and means for
transporting humans to outer space. What makes his imaginings so remarkable is that the
actual methods and means for space flight, which engineers settled on through the experience
of extensive research and trial-and-error, turned out to be essentially the same ones Verne had
imagined nearly a century earlier!
Of course, there are many notable exceptions to the rule that imagination unfettered by
experience breeds remarkable insights and accomplishments. Duke EUington, perhaps jazz
music’s most prolific composers, continued to create new compositions until late in life.
Thomas Edition, who registered far more patents with the U.S. patent office than any other
person, continued to invent until a very old age. Yet, these are exceptions to the general
pattern. Moreover, the later accomplishments of individuals such as these tend to build on
earlier ones, and therefore are not as truly inspired as the earlier ones, which sprung from
imagination less fettered by life experience.
On the other hand, it is important not to take this assertion about artistic and scientific
accomplishment too far. Students of the arts, for instance, must learn theories and techniques,
which they then apply to their craft whether music performance, dance, or acting. And,
creative writing requires the cognitive ability to understand how language is used and how to
communicate ideas. Besides, creative ability is itself partly a function of intellect; that is,
creative expression is a marriage of one’s cognitive abilities and the expression of one’s
feelings and emotions. In literature, for example, a rich life experience from which to draw
ideas is just as crucial to great achievement as imagination. For example, many critics laud
Mark Twam’s autobiography, which he wrote on his death bed, as his most inspired work. And,
while the direction and goals of scientific research rely on the imaginations of key individuals,
most scientific discoveries and inventions come about not by sudden epiphanies of youthful
star-gazers but rather by years and years of trial-and-error in corporate research laboratories.In sum, imagination can serve as an important catalyst for artistic creativity and scientific
invention. Yet, experience can also play a key role; in fact, in literature and in science it can
play just as key a role as the sort of imagination that inexperience breeds.
Issue 74
"In any given field, the leading voices come from people who are motivated not by conviction
but by the desire to present opinions and ideas that differ from those held by the majority."
82
I agree with the statement insofar as our leading voices tend to come from people whose
ideas depart from the status quo. However, I do not agree that what motivates these
iconoclasts is a mere desire to be different; in my view they are driven primarily by their
personal convictions. Supporting examples abound in all areas of human endeavor-- including
politics, the arts, and the physical sciences.
When it comes to political power, I would admit that a deep-seated psychological need to be
noticed or to be different sometimes lies at the heart of a person’s drive to political power and
fame. For instance, some astute presidential historians have described Clinton as a man
motivated more by a desire to be great than to accomplish great things. And many
psychologists attribute Napoleon’s and Mussolini’s insatiable lust for power to a so-called
"short-man complex"--a need to be noticed and admired in spite of one’s small physical
stature.
Nevertheless, for every leading political voice driven to new ideas by a desire to be noticed
or to be different, one can cite many other political leaders clearly driven instead by the
courage of their convictions. Iconoclasts Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, for example,
secured prominent places in history by challenging the status quo through civil disobedience.
Yet no reasonable person could doubt that it was the conviction of their ideas that drove these
two leaders to their respective places.Turning to the arts, mavericks such as Dali, Picasso and Warhol, who departed from
established rules of composition, ultimately emerge as the leading artists. And our most
influential popular musicians are the ones who are flagrantly "different." Consider, for example,
jazz pioneers Thelonius Monk and Miles Davis, who broke all the harmonic rules, or folk
musician-poet Bob Dylan, who established a new standard for lyricism. Were all these leading
voices driven simply by a desire to be different? Perhaps; but my intuition is that creative urges
are born not of ego but rather of some intensely personal commitment to an aesthetic ideal.
As for the physical sciences, innovation and progress can only result from challenging
conventional theories--that is, the status quo. Newton and Einstein, for example, both refused
to blindly accept what were perceived at their time as certain rules of physics. As a result, both
men redefined those rules. Yet it would be patently absurd to assert that these two scientists
were driven by a mere desire to conjure up "different" theories than those of their
contemporaries or predecessors. Surely it was a conviction that their theories were better that
drove these geniuses to their places in history.
To sum up, when one examines history’s leading voices it does appear that they typically
bring to the world something radically different than the status quo. Yet in most cases this sort
of iconoclasm is a byproduct of personal conviction, not iconoclasm for its own sake.
Issue 75
"It is impossible for an effective political leader to tell the truth all the time. Complete honesty is
not a useful virtue for a politician."
Is complete honesty a useful virtue in politics? The speaker contends that it is not, for the
reason that political leaders must sometimes lie to be effective. In order to evaluate this
contention it is necessary to examine the nature of politics, and to distinguish between
83
short-term and long-term effectiveness.