Micki, at My Rearview Mirror, found an interesting piece about how creativity in men diminishes after thirty, marriage and children.
As she succinctly puts it,
Not great news for married with children men or men who are past the age of 30!
He found the data remarkably concurs with the observation made by Albert Einstein in 1942: “A person who has not made his great contribution to science before the age of 30 will never do so.
…the great minds who married virtually kissed goodbye to making any further glorious additions to their CV. Within five years of making their nuptial vows, nearly a quarter of married scientists had made their last significant contribution to knowledge.
It’s hard to argue with this. In a young man’s life, the juices are flowing, there are new challenges everyday, and energy is high. As we mature, we start to encounter some of the same circumstances and events and don’t need to be as creative in our responses as we used to be. We don’t question things like when we were younger. Add in a wife and kids and the responsibilities that come along with them, and the creativity changes direction. It may even be set aside for a while and reawakened at a later stage of life.
Men Who Want to Stay Creative Should Stay Single — 3 Comments
I don’t know about my man – he wasn’t all that creative before I met him, I hear – but I know that when my children were younger, my brain was the consistency of oatmeal. Now that we’re past the terrible twos/threes/fours and the children are becoming more independent, I feel my gray matter firming back up again. Which is good, since I, ya know, plan on writing a book and becoming famous and stuff.
I’m glad you’re grey matter is firming up. heh. You ARE famous now with 90,000 views. Keep on keeping on.
Diva – good news for you! The study showed no correlation between age, marriage and creative productivity for women. I agree with you though, I was much more scatterbrained when my son was younger.
I don’t know about my man – he wasn’t all that creative before I met him, I hear – but I know that when my children were younger, my brain was the consistency of oatmeal. Now that we’re past the terrible twos/threes/fours and the children are becoming more independent, I feel my gray matter firming back up again. Which is good, since I, ya know, plan on writing a book and becoming famous and stuff.
I’m glad you’re grey matter is firming up. heh. You ARE famous now with 90,000 views. Keep on keeping on.
Diva – good news for you! The study showed no correlation between age, marriage and creative productivity for women. I agree with you though, I was much more scatterbrained when my son was younger.