The Madness of Adam and Eve

Fülszöveg

About a hundred thousand years ago we became human. A species of clever ape, which had developed with glacial slowness over a period of three million years, abruptly became something different. Technical, religious, artistic, musical, political, military and criminal abilities emerged and exploded. Rapid changes and murderous briUiance became the predominant features of our world. How did this happen?
The first modern humans originated in Africa. From there they migrated over the whole of Eurasia and Australasia. These first humans carried with them the genetic basis of schizophrenia, the only major illness found to the same extent in aU racial groups. This universal distribution shows that the disease must have been present before the races separated.
Modern evidence shows that families where schizophrenia is present are exceptionally creative in many different fields. Families with schizophrenia also have more dyslexic and manic-depressive members, more sociopaths and... Tovább

Fülszöveg

About a hundred thousand years ago we became human. A species of clever ape, which had developed with glacial slowness over a period of three million years, abruptly became something different. Technical, religious, artistic, musical, political, military and criminal abilities emerged and exploded. Rapid changes and murderous briUiance became the predominant features of our world. How did this happen?
The first modern humans originated in Africa. From there they migrated over the whole of Eurasia and Australasia. These first humans carried with them the genetic basis of schizophrenia, the only major illness found to the same extent in aU racial groups. This universal distribution shows that the disease must have been present before the races separated.
Modern evidence shows that families where schizophrenia is present are exceptionally creative in many different fields. Families with schizophrenia also have more dyslexic and manic-depressive members, more sociopaths and criminals, but more high achievers in every field, including music, religion, the arts and science.
In this radical book David Horrobin draws on his knowledge of medicine, of evolution, of psychiatry, and of nutrition to generate a startling hypothesis: we are human because some of us are schizophrenic and because a 'touch of schizophrenia' is associated with exceptional skills of many sorts, both good and evil, and with that creativity which defines us and separates us from our nearest primate relatives, fiis own research, extending this concept, strongly suggests that an effective treatment for schizophrenia, using specific nutrients, may be within our reach. This remarkable theory not only addresses the deepest issues of humanity, but also has the potential to be world-changing in practice, not at some distant future date but within the next decade. Vissza