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Decline and Fall

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When in ancient Rome, don’t drink as the Romans do. High-born Romans sipped beverages cooked in lead vessels and channeled spring water into their homes through lead pipes . Some historians argue that lead poisoning plagued the Roman elite with diseases such as gout and hastened the empire's fall. Now, a team of archaeologists and scientists has discovered just how contaminated Roman tap water was. The team dredged sediment downstream from Rome in the harbor basin at Portus, a maritime port of imperial Rome, and from a channel connecting the port to the Tiber River. The researchers compared the lead isotopes in their sediment samples with those found in preserved Roman piping to create a historical record of lead pollution flowing from the Roman capital. Tap water from ancient Rome likely contained up to 100 times more lead than local spring water, the team reports online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. While the lead contamination was measureable, the...
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Cubist Surrealism

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The idea of the mad artist seems to be supported to some extent by research, as well as the experiences of mental health challenges for many creative people.  The terms I chose for the title – mad and crazy – have been used for much of human history to “explain” creative people, or to discount, disparage and dismiss those who are psychologically different. Not that we may not suffer from very real emotional and mental health issues, but what do psychologists and researchers say about how these issues can relate to creative thinking? A related term is “neurotic” – which cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman addresses in an article, along with many other topics: “While neuroticism has been associated with a host of negative outcomes (including imposter syndrome, stress, anxiety, impulsivity, depression, and impaired physical health) and even some positive outcomes (such as threat detection and increased vigilance), creative thinking doesn’t appear ...
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