Law professor Elyn Saks struggled for years with schizophrenia. But before she began treating it, she had believed that everybody experienced the world in the same way as she did.  As Saks’ explains in this clip from Madness Redefined: Creativity, Intelligence and the Dark Side of the Mind she blamed her problem on a character defect rather than mental instability. It was only when her mind was cleared, she felt she could take hold of her condition, rather that let it take hold of herself.

In 2007, Saks was received a $500,000 MacArthur Foundation “genius” award for her memoir, The Center Cannot Hold.

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This program is part of The Big Idea Series, made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.

Photo courtesy of Johnny Grim; recorded June 2012; posted September 2012