Arts_Foster_Scientific_Success_Avocation

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Arts Foster Scientific Success: 
Avocations of Nobel, National 
Academy, Royal Society, 
and Sigma Xi Members
Robert Root-Bernstein, PhD 
Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing
Lindsay Allen 
Leighanna Beach 
Ragini Bhadula 
Justin Fast 
Chelsea Hosey 
Benjamin Kremkow 
Jacqueline Lapp 
Kaitlin Lone 
Kendell Pawelec 
Abigail Podufaly 
Caitlin Russ 
Laurie Tennant 
Eric Vrtis 
Stacey Weinlander 
Honors College, Michigan State University, East Lansing
V a rio u s in v e s t ig a to rs h a v e p r o p o s e d th a t “ s c ie n t if ic g e n iu s e s " a re p o ly m a th s . T o te s t th is h y p o th e s is , a u to ­
b io g ra p h ie s , b io g ra p h ie s , a n d o b itu a ry n o t ic e s o f N o b e l P riz e w in n e rs in th e s c ie n c e s , m e m b e rs o f th e 
R o ya l S o c ie ty , a n d th e U .S . N a tio n a l A c a d e m y o f S c ie n c e s w e re re a d a n d a d u lt a r ts a n d c ra f ts a v o c a t io n s 
ta b u la te d . D a ta w e re c o m p a re d w ith a 1 9 3 6 a v o c a t io n s u rv e y o f S ig m a X i m e m b e rs a n d a 1 9 8 2 s u rv e y 
o f a r ts a v o c a t io n s a m o n g th e U .S . p u b lic . N o b e l la u re a te s w e re s ig n if ic a n t ly m o re lik e ly to e n g a g e in a r ts 
a n d c ra f ts a v o c a t io n s th a n R o ya l S o c ie ty a n d N a tio n a l A c a d e m y o f S c ie n c e s m e m b e rs , w h o w e re in tu rn 
s ig n if ic a n t ly m o re lik e ly th a n S ig m a Xi m e m b e rs a n d th e U .S . p u b lic . S c ie n t is ts a n d th e ir b io g ra p h e rs o fte n 
c o m m e n te d o n th e u tility o f th e ir a v o c a t io n s a s s t im u li fo r th e ir s c ie n c e . T h e u tility o f a r ts a n d c ra f ts tra in in g 
fo r s c ie n t is ts m a y h a v e im p o r ta n t p u b lic p o lic y a n d e d u c a t io n a l im p lic a t io n s in lig h t o f th e m a rg in a liz a tio n 
o f th e s e s u b je c ts in m o s t c u rr ic u la .
K e y w o rd s : h o b b ie s ; m u sic ; w ritin g ; p e rfo rm in g ; p a in tin g ; p o ly m a th s
Journal of Psychology of Science and Technology, Volume 1, Number 2, 2008 © Springer Publishing Company
DO: 10.1891/1939-7054 1.2.51
W
hat m ak es so m e scien tists m ore creative than 
others? In 1 8 7 8 , J . H. van't Hoff, w h o w ould 
b eco m e the first N obel Prize w in n er in C h e m ­
istry ( 1 9 0 1 ) , prop osed that sc ien tific im agination is co r ­
re lated w ith creative activ ities outsid e o f sc ien ce (van ’t 
Hoff, 1 9 6 7 ) . H is sp ecu latio n was later repeated b y sev ­
eral o th er N obel lau reates as w ell, in c lu d in g Santiago 
R am on y C a ja l ( 1 9 5 1 ) an d W ilh elm O stw ald ( 1 9 0 9 ) . 
Su b seq u en t p sy ch olog ica l stu d ies have su ggested that 
“g en iu ses" in all fields are m u ch m ore likely to be m ore 
broad ly talented th an th e average person. E. L. T h o rn ­
d ike ( 1 9 1 1 ) co n clu d ed from h is stu d ies that
H aving a large m easu re o f o n e good qu ality in ­
c r ea ses th e p ro b ab ility th a t o n e w ill have m o re than 
th e average o f any o th e r good quality. H e w h o can 
learn b ette r th an average th rou g h h is eyes, ten d s to 
learn b e tte r th a n th e average throu gh h is ears also; 
h e w h o ca n atten d to o n e th in g b etter th an all o th er 
m en , will be able to a tten d to m any th ings at o n ce 
o r in rapid su ccessio n b ette r than m ost o f them . 
A rtistic ability, as in m u sic , p ain ting , o r literary c re ­
a tio n , goes with sc ien tific ab ility and m atter-of-fact 
w isd om . T h e best abstract th in k e r will b e above the 
average in co n cre te th o u g h t also. (p p . 2 6 - 2 7 )
Sim ilarly , W h ite ( 1 9 3 1 ) fou nd th at “g en iu ses” 
have a w id er ran g e o f a v o ca tio n s carried o u t m o re in ­
ten sively th an th e average co lleg e g rad u ate, and M il- 
g ram and co lleag u es ( 1 9 9 7 ) fou nd th at h av in g at least 
on e p ersisten t an d in te llectu a lly stim u la tin g h o b b y is 
a b e tte r p re d ic to r for ca re e r su cce ss in an y d isc ip lin e 
th an IQ , stand ard ized test sco re s , o r grad es. It sh ou ld 
b e n o te d , h ow ever, th at p re co c ity in sco rin g very high 
o n stand ard ized tests su ch as th e SAT also h a s recen tly 
b ee n sh o w n to be p red ictiv e o f creativ ity and ca reer 
su cce ss by B en b o w an d h er co lla b o ra to rs (L u b in sk i &r 
Benbow , 2 0 0 6 ; P ark , L u b in sk i, &r Benbow , 2 0 0 7 ) .
W h ile th ese g en era l s tu d ie s o f su cce ssfu l p eop le 
le n d cre d e n c e to v a n ’t H o ffs sp e cu la tio n , on ly th ree 
p rev io u s s tu d ies h ave d irectly ad d ressed w h eth er the 
m o st su ccessfu l sc ie n tis ts are m o re likely to be p o ly ­
m a th s than are less su cce ss fu l sc ien tis ts . C ran efie ld 
( 1 9 6 6 ) ex a m in ed a d ozen sc ien tis ts in v o lv ed in the 
fo u n d in g o f b io p h y sics d u rin g th e m id -1 9 th ce n tu ry 
an d fou nd a p o sitiv e a sso c ia tio n b etw een n u m b e r 
o f a v o ca tio n s an d n u m b e r o f m a jo r d isco v eries . In 
a n o th e r stu d y o f a c o n v e n ie n c e sam p le o f 4 0 late 
2 0 th -c e n tu ry sc ie n tis ts , it w as fou n d that th e m ost 
su ccessfu l s c ie n tis ts (w h ich in c lu d ed 4 N o b el lau re ­
a tes and 11 m e m b ers o f th e U .S . N atio n a l A cad em y 
o f S c ie n ce s [N A SD w ere s ig n ifican tly m o re lik e ly to 
b e en g ag ed in a fin e arts o r a cra fts a v o ca tio n as an 
ad u lt th an w ere th e ir less su cce ssfu l co lle a g u es (R o o t- 
B e rn ste in , B ern ste in , & G arn ier, 1 9 9 5 ) . T h e se resu lts 
w ere co n firm e d in a la rger stu d y co m p a rin g N o b el 
Prize w in n e rs in C h e m is tfy w ith th e resu lts o f a su r ­
vey o f a v o ca tio n s o f S ig m a Xi (T h e R esearch S o cie ty ) 
m e m b ers (R o o t-B e rn ste in & R o o t-B e rn s te in , 2 0 0 4 ) .
M E T H O D
T h e p resen t artic le ex ten d s the latter stu d y to a c o m ­
p ariso n o f all N obel lau reates b etw een 1 9 0 1 and 
2 0 0 5 ; all O b itu ary N otices an d B iog rap h ica l M em oirs 
o f the R oyal S ociety b etw een 1 9 3 2 and 2 0 0 5 ; all N a ­
tion al A ca d em y o j S c ien ces (USA) B iog rap h ica l Memoirs 
b etw een 1 8 7 7 an d 2 0 0 5 ; a 1 9 3 6 av o catio n su rvey o f 
S igm a Xi m e m b ers (W ard & Ellery, 1 9 3 6 ) and a 1 9 8 2 
su rvey o f arts av o catio n s am o n g th e U .S . p u b lic (Su r ­
vey o f P u blic P articip atio n in th e A rts [SPPA ), 1 9 8 2 ) . 
In fo rm atio n o n th e N obel lau reates w as g ath ered from 
th e O b itu a iy N otices an d B iog rap h ica l M em oirs ju s t 
m en tio n ed (w h ich co v ered on ly so m e lau reates), as 
w ell as from the N obel Prize W eb site b iog rap h ies and 
a u to b io g rap h ies (h ttp ://n o b e lp riz e .se) , Ja m e s ( 1 9 9 3 ) , 
and 4 5 E n glish -lan g u ag e b o o k -le n g th b iog rap h ies and 
au to b io g rap h ies (co v erin g 9 % o f the lau reates). T h e 
average n u m b er o f pages d evoted to Royal S o cie ty (R S) 
o b itu aries w as 1 7 pages; to N ational A cad em y o f S c i ­
en ces b iog rap h ies, 2 3 pages; an d to n o n -b o o k -le n g th 
so u rces for N obel lau reates, 12 pages. T h e average sum 
o f n o n -b o o k -le n g th m aterials u sed for each N obel 
laureate w as ab o u t 1 9 pages. It is th erefo re u n lik ely 
that d ifferencesPrize): Hartley, H. The 
Exhibition of Sir Cyril Hinshelwood’s Paintings at 
G oldsm iths' Hall on 2 0 March, 1968 . Notes and Re­
cords o f the Royal Society o f London, 2 3 (1 ) (Ju n e 19 6 8 ), 
2 3 -2 8 .
R. V J . and W D. M. P Sir Harold Hartley, FR.S.:
An Appreciation on His Retirem ent from ihe Editor­
ship of ‘Notes and Records’. Notes and Records 
o f the Royal Society o f London, 2 6 (1 ) (Ju n e 19 7 1 ), 
1- 2 .
Henry Kendall (Noble Prize): http://library.stanford.edu/ 
depis/ssrg/m isc/sac2-n ib.lnm 
Harold Kroto (Noble Prize): http://www.kroto.info/Gra 
phics/index.htm l 
Albert M ichelson (Noble Prize): http://www.usna.edu/LibE 
xhibits/M ichelson/M ichelson_personal.htm l 
W ilhelm Ostwald (Noble Prize): http://home.arcor.de/wil 
h e lm -o stw ald /o siw en g /en g en er2.h tm h ttp ://h o m e 
town.aol.de/ostwaldenergie/index.htm?f=fs hup://www. 
natu re.com /n atu re/jou rn al/v425/n 6961/fu ll/425904a. 
html
Charles Best (Royal Society): http://www.ntpl.ca/ws_ 
par/banting/database/OOO 167e.htm l
George E. Briggs (Royal Society): Robertson, R. George 
Edward Briggs. 25 June 1 8 9 3 -7 February 1985. Bio­
g raphical M emoirs o f Fellows o f the Royal Society, Vol. 32 
(D ecem ber 1 9 8 6 ), p. 59.
Alister C. Hardy (Royal Society): http://www.sahfos.ac.uk/ 
parables/start 1 .him http://www.sahfos.ac.uk/parables/ 
startl4 .h tm
Herbert M. Powell (Royal Society): McLauchlan, K. A. Her­
bert Marcus Powell. 7 August 1 9 0 6 -1 0 March 1991 . 
Biographical M emoirs o f Fellows o f the Royal Society, Vol. 
4 6 (N ovem ber 2 0 0 0 ), p. 426 .
Charles Piazzi Sm yth (Royal Society): http://www.nnim. 
a c .u k /c o lle c tio n s /s e a rc h /lis tR e s u lts .c fm ? m a k e r= 
C harles% 20Piazzi% 20Sm yth& sortBy=m aker 
Robert R. W ilson (National Academy of Sciences): http:// 
hisiory.fnal.gov/sculpture.htm l http://www fnal.gov/ 
pub/about/cam pus/sculptures.htm l http://www.fnal. 
g ov /p u b/ferm in ew s/ferm in ew sO O -01-28/scu lp tu re, 
html http://upl0ad.wikim edia.0rg/wikipedia/en/8/82/ 
T op ol o g ic a l_ l l l_ b y _ R o b e r t_ R ._ W i Ison % 2 C _ a t_ 
Harvard_U niversity.JPGhttp://w w w .sciencenew s.org/ 
articles/20000902/m athtrek.asp
	METHOD
	RESULTS
	□ SX'Max □ SX-Min □ US a RS «NAS bNOB
	DISCUSSION
	NOTE
	REFERENCES
	APPENDIXin the rates o f av o catio n s fou nd am o n g 
th e d ifferent g rou p s (see b elo w ) are due to m ore sp ace 
b ein g d evoted to b iog rap h ical details for o n e group 
than an oth er. Even th e use o f b o o k -le n g th b iog rap h ies 
for 9 % o f th e N obel lau reates h as n o ap p aren t re la tio n ­
sh ip to the varied d ifferen ces fou nd betw een lau reates 
an d th e o th e r g rou p s (see tab les an d figures).
N obel laureates, NA S and Royal S o cie ty scien tists 
w ere co n sid ered to have an arts o r crafts avocation if 
they d escrib ed them selves o r w ere d escribed by b iog ra ­
ph ers as b ein g a painter, p hotographer, actor, perform er, 
com p oser, p oet, dancer, craftsm an , glassblow er, and so 
o n after en terin g co llege; if they to o k lessons in an art o r 
craft as an ad u lt; o r if th ere was d irect ev id en ce o f art­
w o rk , p h o to g rap h s, scu lp tu res, co m p o sitio n s, p oem s, 
p erfo rm an ces, and so on . People w h o w ere vaguely d e ­
scrib ed in term s su ch as "hav ing an artistic p ersonality" 
o r “h aving an avid in terest in m u sic” w ere n ot co u n ted , 
and sep arate co d in g s w ere m ade for ev id en ce o f c o l ­
lectin g art, m u sic , and so o n , b u t w ere not in clu d ed 
in the data analyzed in this article. T h ese criteria m ay 
be som ew h at stric ter than the Sigm a Xi data, in w hich 
all p articip an ts self-iden tified th e ir avocation s m erely 
by categ ories th at are vague en o u g h to have inclu ded 
co llecto rs am o n g artists and avid gallery, theater, and 
co n cerl-g o ers am o n g p ain ters and p erform ers.
F o r p u rp o ses o f th is study, S ig m a X i is c o n s id ­
ered to be rep resen ta tiv e o f s c ie n tis ts in g en eral 
s in ce an y w o rk in g sc ie n tis t c a n b e c o m e a m em b er. 
B ey on d m e m b e rsh ip cr ite r ia , th ree im p o rta n t d iffer ­
e n c e s e x is t b e tw ee n th e g ro u p s s tu d ied . O n e is that 
N obel la u rea tes are in tern a tio n a l, w h ere a s th e S ig m a 
X i an d N atio n a l A cad em y o f S c ie n c e s g ro u p s are 
m ain ly N o rth A m erica n an d th e R oyal Society , B rit ­
ish . T h e cu rre n t stu d y d o es n o t co n tro l fo r cu ltu ra l 
d iffere n ces b ey o n d co m p a rin g N ation al A cad em y o f 
S c ie n ce s an d R oyal S o c ie ty data . S e co n d , N o b e l, N a ­
tion al A cad em y o f S c ie n c e s , and Royal S o c ie ty data 
are sca tte red o v er tim e, w h ereas S ig m a X i an d p u b lic 
arts d ata ca p tu re o n e lim e p o in t ea ch . Fortu n ately , 
th e m ed ian age o f N o b el lau reates w o u ld h ave been 
4 0 in 1 9 3 6 , th e R oyal S o c ie ty m e m b ers 4 7 , and the 
N atio n al A cad em y m e m b ers 5 9 , p la cin g th is s in g le 
tim e p o in t c lo se to th e c e n te r o f th e p ro fessio n a l life 
o f sc ien tis ts rep resen ted by e a ch d istrib u te d data set. 
In a d d itio n , th e d istr ib u tio n o f a v o ca tio n s p rio r to and 
after 1 9 3 6 w as n o t s ig n ifica n tly d ifferen t in any o f the 
d istrib u ted g rou p s. T h e p u b lic arts data w ere th e o ld ­
est re lev an t o n es fou n d for th e U .S . p o p u la tio n and 
are u sed d esp ite th e ir tem p o ra l in a d e q u a cy and the 
fact th a t n o cra fts d ata w ere g ath ered in th at study. 
An ex ten siv e sea rch for eq u iv a len t d ata for G reat B r it ­
ain ( in c lu d in g co n ta c tin g th e d ire c to r o f ce n su s d ata) 
y ie ld ed n o th in g , so n o a p p ro p ria te co n tro l e x ists for 
the R oyal S o cie ty d ata . T h ird , o n ly 4 ,4 0 6 ( 1 0 .3 % ) 
o f th e 4 2 ,5 2 5 S ig m a X i m e m b e rs in 1 9 3 6 rep o rted 
a v o catio n s w h ereas in fo rm a tio n w as fou nd for 7 8 % 
o f N o b el lau reates a n d a b o u t 8 0 % o f th e Royal S o c i ­
e ty an d N atio n a l A cad em y o f S c ie n c e s m e m b ers . In 
an a ly z in g th e d ata , th e m o st co n se rv a tiv e a p p ro ach 
w as th erefo re ta k en , a ssu m in g th at th e R oyal Society , 
N ation al A cad em y o f S c ie n ce s , and N o b el d ata sets 
are co m p le te ( i .e . , th at the 2 0 % o f R oyal S o cie ty and
N atio n al A cad em y m e m b e rs an d 2 2 % o f la u rea tes for 
w h o m th ere is n o a v o ca tio n d ata h ad n o a v o ca tio n s) 
an d th a t th e d is tr ib u tio n o f a v o ca tio n s a m o n g th e 
1 0 % o f S ig m a X i re sp o n d e rs is ty p ica l o f a ll S ig m a X i 
m e m b e rs (S ig m a Xi M ax in F ig u re 2 ) . T h is s tra teg y 
m in im iz es d iffere n ces b etw een th e g ro u p s. T h e data 
have a lso b e e n an aly zed a ssu m in g th at th e 1 0 % o f 
S ig m a Xi re sp o n d e rs w ere th e on ly m e m b ers w h o had 
a v o ca tio n s (S ig m a X i M in in F ig u re 2 ) . R eality is o b ­
v iou sly so m ew h e re b e tw ee n th ese ex trem e s.
R E S U L T S
T h e re are variou s w ays to analyze th ese data , all o f 
w h ich sh ow very sig n ifican t re la tio n sh ip s b etw een 
su cce ss as a sc ien tist an d ev id en ce o f ad u lt arts and 
crafts av o catio n s. O n e m easu re is the average n u m ­
b e r o f arts and crafts av o catio n s a m o n g each g roup. 
S igm a Xi resp o n d en ts had an average o f 0 .3 3 arts o r 
crafts av o catio n s (w ith th e o th e r rep orted h o b b ie s d is ­
tr ib u ted am o n g v ariou s sp o rts, n u m ism atics , philately, 
gard en in g , e tc .) ; th e U .S . p u b lic , 0 .3 5 ; R oyal Society 
m em b ers, 0 .5 9 ; N ation al A cad em y o f S c ie n ce s m e m ­
b ers, 0 .5 6 ; an d N obel lau reates, 0 .9 4 (see F ig u re 1). In 
sh o rt, the ty p ical S igm a X i m e m b er w as a b o u t eq u ally 
likely to have an arts o r crafts av o catio n as a typical 
m e m b er o f the p u b lic , th o u g h th e d istrib u tio n o f th ese 
av o catio n s w as d ifferent (see F ig u re 2 ) . O u r data c o n ­
firm M cC le llan d ’s ( 1 9 6 2 ) fin d in g that p h y sica l sc ie n ­
tists en jo y ed m u sic bu t avoid ed art, poetry, p lays, and 
m ost o th e r arts, w hile a lso valid atin g T erm an ’s ( 1 9 5 4 ) 
report that sc ien tis ts ’ favorite arts-re lated av o catio n is 
photography. N o n sc ien tists ap p ear to e n jo y w ritin g 
poetry, p erfo rm an ce arts, and visual arts to a s ig n ifi ­
can tly h ig h er degree th an th e average sc ien tist.
E m in e n t sc ie n tis ts h ave a d ifferen t p rofile o f arts 
and cra fts in terests th a n d o ty p ical sc ien tis ts . T h e ty p ­
ical Royal S o cie ty and N ation al A cad em y o f S c ie n ce s 
m e m b er w as a lm o st tw ice as lik e ly to have cra fts av o ­
ca tio n s as the typical S igm a Xi m e m b e r o r th e U .S . 
p u b lic . N obel lau reates w ere a lm o st th ree tim es as 
likely to have arts an d cra fts a v o ca tio n s as S ig m a Xi 
m e m b ers and th e U .S . p u b lic , and a b o u t 5 0 % m ore 
likely to have su ch a v o ca tio n s th an R oyal S o c ie ty o r 
N ation al A cad em y o f S c ie n ce s m em b ers . T h e re w ere 
no s ig n ifican t d ifferen ces b etw een th e S ig m a Xi o r U .S. 
p u b lic , o r b etw een th e Royal S o cie ty an d th e N ational 
A cad em y o f S c ie n ce s d ata , b u t all th e o th e r p o ssib le
□ Sigma Xi □ US Public ■ Royal Society S NAS ® Nobel
1 -i
FIGURE 1. A v e ra g e n u m b e r o f a n y a r t a n d c ra f t a v o c a tio n p e r g ro u p : H o n o re d s c ie n t is ts , S ig m a Xi 
m e m b e rs ,a n d th e U .S . p u b lic .
Note. Nobel Prize w inn ers (1 9 0 1 - 2 0 0 5 :5 1 0 indiv idua ls); Royal Soc iety b iog raphees ( 1 9 3 2 -2 0 0 5 :1 ,6 3 4 individuals); National Academ y of 
S c iences (USA) b iog raph ee s ( 1 8 7 7 -2 0 0 5 :1 ,2 6 6 individua ls); S igm a Xi m em b ers (1 9 3 6 :4 ,4 0 6 individuals); an d th e U.S. pu b lic (1 9 8 2 :4 ,2 5 0 
individua ls).
p e rm u ta tio n s w ere s ig n ifican t to pca n n o t 
sh o w is th e q u ality o f th e arts an d cra fts p ro d u ced by 
th ese sc ie n tis ts . F o r p re sen t p u rp o ses it m ay su ffice 
to list so m e o f th e sc ie n tis ts w h o have h ad seco n d 
ca reers as p ro fessio n a l o r sem ip ro fessio n a i fine a rt ­
is ts , p u b lish ed fic tio n w riters (n o v e lis ts , sh o rt-s to ry 
w riters , p lay w rig h ts, and p o e ts ), o r w h o gave p u b lic 
m u sica l p e rfo rm a n ces (see Table 2 ; see A p p en d ix for 
a list o f cu rre n tly av ailab le W eb sites fea tu rin g th e art 
o f so m e o f th ese sc ie n tis ts ). (T h e list o f N o b el la u re ­
a tes an d N atio n al A cad em y o f S c ie n ce s an d R oyal S o ­
c ie ty m e m b ers w h o have p u b lish ed p o p u la r sc ien ce 
b o o k s is so large as to b e b ey o n d th e sc o p e o f th is ar ­
t ic le .) It is w o rth n o tin g Roald H o ffm a n n ’s co m m e n t: 
“It sh o u ld be sa id that b u ild in g a ca re e r in p o etry is 
m u ch h ard er th an in sc ie n ce . In th e b es t ch em ica l 
jo u r n a l in th e w orld the a cc e p ta n ce rate for full ar ­
t ic les is 6 5 % , for co m m u n ic a tio n s 3 5 % . In a rou tin e 
literary jo u r n a l , far from th e b est, th e a cc e p ta n ce rate 
for p o e m s is b e lo w 5 % " (H o ffm a n n , n .d .) . Sim ilarly , 
it is w o rth b e a r in g in m in d th e co n sta n t p ra ctice th at 
is re q u ired to p e rfo rm m u sic at even a high a m ateu r 
level o r to p ro d u ce a rtw o rk o f su ffic ien t qu ality to 
be e x h ib ite d p u blicly . T h e a rtis tic sc ie n tis ts b e in g d e ­
scrib e d h ere are n o t m ere d ile ttan tes.
□ SX'Max □ SX-Min □ US a RS «N AS b NOB
Percentage
H II' I 
f P PI HI
Avocation
FIGURE 2 . P e rc e n ta g e s o f a d u lts in s p e c if ic a r ts a n d c ra f ts a v o c a tio n s : H o n o re d 
s c ie n t is ts , S ig m a Xi m e m b e rs , a n d th e U .S. p u b lic .
Note. SX = S igm a Xi; M ax = M a xim um : M in = M in im um : US = U.S. Public ; RS = Royal Society; NAS = National A ca d ­
em y of Science; NOB = Nobel Laureate.
A ll d iffe re nces betw een Nobel la ureates an d S ig m a Xi M ax da ta w ere s ig n ifica n t to pisin g and 
so lv in g im p o rta n t sc ie n tif ic p ro b lem s. G ru b e r ( 1 9 8 4 , 
1 9 8 8 ) h as p rov ided a c la ss ic ex a m p le o f h o w su ch 
n e tw o rk s o f en terp rise w ere u sed b y C h a rle s D arw in 
w h en h e d rew to g e th e r h is in tere sts in h u n tin g , c o l ­
le c tin g , travel, p a leon to log y , geology, geograp hy, z o ­
ology, botany, a g ricu ltu re , b re ed in g , an d e c o n o m ic s 
to g en era te th e in teg ra tiv e c o n c e p t o f ev o lu tio n by 
n atu ral se lec tio n . C ran efie ld m ad e a s im ila r arg u m en t 
regard in g cu ltu ra l in flu en ces on th e n u m b er, quality , 
an d in teg rative n atu re o f d isco v eries m ade by early 
b io p h y sic is ts su ch as H erm an n von H elm h o ltz an d 
E m il du B o is R ey m o n d (C ra n e fie ld , 1 9 6 6 ) .
T h is p h en om en o n o f exp lorin g diverse in terests 
and talents that are su bsequ en tly integrated into o n e’s 
scien tific creativity is co m m o n enou gh that R am on y 
C ajal argued its necessity. R ather than preferring m o n o - 
m aniacally dedicated specialists, he therefore advised 
those trying to identify scien tific talent to ch o o se, “those 
stud ents w ho are som ew h at headstrong, co n tem p tu o u s
o f first p lace , in sen sib le to the in d u cem en ts o f vanity, 
and w ho b ein g en d ow ed w ith an ab u n d an ce o f restless 
im agination , sp end th eir energy in the pursuit o f litera ­
ture, art, philosophy, an d all th e recreation s o f m ind and 
body. To h im w h o observes th em from afar, it appears as 
thou gh they are scatterin g and d issipating their energies, 
w hile in reality, they are ch an n elin g and stren g th en in g 
th em . . . . T h e in vestigator w ould possess so m eth in g 
o f this h appy co m b in atio n o f attributes: an artistic 
tem p eram en t w hich im pels h im to search for, and have 
the ad m iration of, the n u m ber, beauty, an d h arm o n y o f 
th ings” (R am on y C aja l, 1 9 5 1 , pp. 1 7 0 - 1 7 1 ) .
F o llo w in g R am o n y C a ja l’s lead , m an y N o b e l Prize 
w in n e rs (N P ) and m e m b ers o f th e R S and N A S have 
e x p lic itly c o m m e n te d o n h o w a v o ca tio n s d ev elo p 
u sefu l sk ills : h a n d -e y e co o rd in a tio n ; k n o w led g e o f 
to o ls and p ro cesse s ; b e tte r v isual im a g in a tio n ; im ­
proved ab ility to co m m u n ic a te u sin g w o rd s, im ages, 
an d m o d els ; th e stage p re sen ce o f th e p ra ctice d per­
fo rm er; an d a re fin ed sc ie n tif ic a e s th e tic se n s ib ility
(R o o t-B e r n s te in , 1 9 8 9 , 2 0 0 0 , 2 0 0 1 , 2 0 0 3 ; R o o t- 
B e rn ste in & R o o t-B e rn ste in , 2 0 0 4 ; R o o t-B e rn ste in , 
B e rn ste in , & G a m ie r, 1 9 9 5 ; v an ’t H off, 1 9 6 7 ) . A b r ie f 
su rv ey o f re lev an t co m m e n ts fo llow s.
P eter M itch e ll (N P ) n o te d th at, “M ost (scien tists] 
w h o try to be crea tiv e , I th in k , h ave fou nd th at th ey ’ve 
g o t to b e c o m e cra ftsp eo p le as w ell as art p e o p le” 
(W o lp e rt & R ich ard s, 1 9 9 7 ) . T h is w as ce rta in ly true 
o f a r tis t-c ra ftsm a n C h a rle s M in o t, w h o se “m e ch a n i ­
ca l a b ility a id ed h im g reatly in h is d e lica te w o rk w ith 
th e m ic ro s c o p e .”1 C arl W eim a n (N P ) a ttrib u ted so m e 
o f h is su cce ss to s im ila r ta len ts : “I th in k th at m u ch o f 
m y ta len t an d e n jo y m e n t at im p ro v isin g so lu tio n s to 
e x p e rim e n ta l p ro b lem s g o es b a c k to th o se h o m eb u ilt 
p ro je c ts . . . . C a rry in g o u t th ese in d iv id u al p ro je c ts 
a lso d ev e lo p ed in m e a good sen se o f se lf-re lia n ce 
an d a se n se w h e n a p iece o f im p ro v ised ap p aratu s 
w as lik e ly (o r u n lik e ly ) to b e ad eq u ate . T h is sen se is 
on e th at I o ften see m iss in g in s tu d e n ts w h o se ed u ca ­
tion h as b ee n co n fin e d to form al in s tru c tio n .” S im i ­
larly, R o b e rt L au g h lin (N A S) re co u n ts th at,
1, for ex am p le , u sed to tak e ap p lian ces apart w h en 
th ey b ro k e in an attem p t to fix th em , w h ich I rarely 
d id su ccessfu lly , b e in g a k id . I am b ette r at this 
now. It w as th rou gh su ch creative p lay th at I first 
learn ed a b o u t p u m p im p ellers, refrigeran t cy cles, 
m aterial s tren g th , co rro sio n , and th e ru d im en ts o f 
electricity , an d m o re im p o rtan tly th e idea th at real 
u n d erstan d in g o f a th in g co m es from tak in g it apart 
o n ese lf, n o t read in g a b o u t it in a b o o k o r hearin g 
ab o u t it in a c lassro o m . To this day 1 alw ays in ­
s ist o n w o rk in g o u t a p ro b lem from th e b eg in n in g 
w ith ou t read in g u p on it first, a h ab it th at so m e ­
tim es g ets m e in to trou b le b u t ju s t as o ften h elp s 
m e see th in gs m y p red ecesso rs have m issed .
H en ry K en d ell (N P ), a p io n e e r o f u n d erw a ter sa l ­
vag in g an d p h otog rap h y , n o te d th at, “T h e se a ctiv ities , 
m o stly se lf-ta u g h t, w ere a g o o d in tro d u ctio n to tw o 
sk ills v ery h e lp fu l in la ter e x p e rim e n ta l w o rk : see in g 
p ro je c ts th ro u g h to su cce ss fu l co n c lu s io n s a n d d o in g 
th e m safely.” W. H. Bragg (N P ), W. L. Bragg (N P ), 
M au rice W ilk in s (N P ), Lu is A lvarez (N P ), W alter 
H ess (N P ), B ru ce M errifie ld (N P ), Stev en C h u (N P ), 
M artin P erl (N P ), an d B arry M arsh all (N P ) are a m o n g 
th e m a n y o th e rs w h o a ttrib u ted th e ir sc ie n tif ic s u c ­
ce ss to cra fts av o catio n s.
F in e arts also develop sk ills o f value to scien tists. 
J . H. van ’t H o ff (N P ) ( 1 9 6 7 ) , W ilh elm O stw ald (N P)
( 1 9 0 9 ) , San tiag o R am on y C a ja l (N P ) ( 1 9 5 1 ) , an d M ax 
P la n ck (N P ) all argued in P lan ck ’s w ords th at, “T h e 
p ion eer sc ien tist m u st have . . . [an] artistica lly creative 
im ag in atio n ” (P lan ck , 1 9 4 9 , p . 8 ) . F o r exam p le, in h er 
b o o k T h e M ind a n d the Eye, A gnes A rber (R S) m a in ­
ta in ed th at draw in g is as im p o rtan t as w ords for le a rn ­
in g ab o u t and co m m u n ica tin g sc ien tific know led ge. 
Like A rber, W illiam B ro o k s (N A S), Santiago R am on y 
C a ja l (N P ), and H ow ard F lo rey (N P ) w ere am o n g m any 
w h o believed th at that w h ich h ad n o t b een draw n had 
n o t b een seen . A rtist-d an cer-p oet C . H. W ad d in g ton 
(R S ) exp an d ed o n this th em e in h is b o o k B eh in d A p ­
p e a r a n c e : A Study o f the R elation s B etw een P ainting an d 
th e N a tu ra l S c ien ces in the 2 0 th C entu iy . H e ad vocated 
David B o h m ’s (R S) p h ilo so p h y th at creative p ro cess is 
a tran sd iscip lin ary lin k b etw een the sc ien ces and arts 
(c f ., B oh m & Peat, 1 9 8 7 ) . F o r W ad d in g to n , u nd er ­
stan d in g h o w art w as m ad e w as a w ay to u nd erstan d 
h is ow n field o f em bryology, b ecau se , “A n art o b je c t 
is alw ays an instruction , to d o o r to exp erien ce , not a 
p iece o f in fo rm atio n ; and liv ing th in gs are organized 
in stru ctio n s, not organized in fo rm atio n ” (W ad d in g to n , 
1 9 7 2 , p. 3 7 ) . F o r sim ilar reason s, artistic p rocesses and 
th em es p ervad ed th e way in w h ich R obert R. W ilso n 
(N A S) d esigned an d invented cy clo tro n s: “In d esign in g 
an acce lera to r I p roceedvery m u ch as I do in m ak in g a 
scu lp tu re . I felt th a t ju s t as a th eo ry is beau tifu l, so , too , 
is a sc ien tific in stru m en t— o r th at it sh o u ld be. T h e lines 
sh o u ld b e g racefu l, the vo lu m es balan ced . I h o p ed th at 
th e ch a in o f accelerato rs, th e exp erim en ts, to o , an d th e 
u tilities w ould all b e strongly b u t sim p ly exp ressed as 
o b je c ts o f in trin sic beau ty ” (W ilso n , 1 9 9 2 ) . “O n e th in g 
is c lear,” W ilso n o n ce w rote , “it is th at th ere is m u ch 
in co m m o n b etw een w h at th e creative artist d o es an d 
w h at the sc ien tist d o es” (W ilso n , 1 9 7 8 ) .
S o m e a rtis tic s c ie n tis ts also fo u n d co n n e c tio n s 
b etw een th e c o n te n t o f th e ir arts an d th e ir sc ie n tif ic 
re sea rch . O stw ald (N P ), a p a in ter , in v en ted a w id ely 
em p lo y ed c o lo r th e o ry an d tau g h t at th e B au h au s d e ­
s ig n sc h o o l in G erm any. S im ilarly , O g d en R ood (N A S) 
fo cu se d h is v o ca tio n an d a v o ca tio n o n th e “n u m er ­
o u s th e m es th at lie in th e m id d le g ro u n d b etw een 
p h y sics an d p a in tin g .” H is b o o k M o d ern C h rom a tics 
in flu e n ce d b o th p h y sic is ts an d im p ressio n ist p a in t ­
ers. G a b rie l L ip p m an n (N P ), D en n is G a b o r (N P ), an d 
H arold ( “D o c”) E d g e rto n (N A S) co m b in e d th e ir love 
o f p h o to g ra p h y and p h y sics to rev o lu tio n ize b o th by 
d ev e lo p in g n o v e l p h o to g ra p h ic te ch n iq u e s th at w ere 
s im u lta n eo u sly u sed fo r a rtis tic p u rp o ses.
M u sician -sc ien tists have fou n d sim ilar c o n ju n c ­
tion s. Ja m e s Je a n s (R S) tran slated h is m u sica l p ro cliv ­
ity in to stu d ies o f how d ifferent m u sica l in s ta lm e n ts 
p ro d u ce th eir ch a ra cte ris tic so u n d s, resu ltin g in h is 
c lassic b o o k S c ien ce an d M usic, w h ile G eo rg v o n Bekesy 
(N P ) tran slated h is m u sica l talent in to stu d ies o f h ow 
the h u m an ear fu n ctio n s. W alth er Nernst- (N P ) in ­
vented so m e o f th e first e lec tro n ic in stru m en ts w hile 
J . R. P ierce (N A S) co m b in ed h is e lec tro n ics exp ertise 
w ith h is m u sica l ab ility to develop th e first co m p u te rs 
cap ab le o f m ak in g m u sic . P ierce even tu ally b ecam e a 
p rofessor o f m u sic at Stanford U n iversity ’s C en te r for 
C o m p u ter R esearch in M usic and A cou stics . V ic to r Be- 
n io ff (N A S) co m b in ed h is in terests in m u sic and crafts 
to design e lec tro n ic v io lin s, ce llo s , and p ian os, the la t ­
te r p rod u ced by the Bald w in P iano C om pany.
As w ith th e v isual arts , th e c o n n e c tio n s b etw een 
m u sic and s c ie n c e are n ot a lw ays so d irect. Je s s e 
G ree n ste in (N A S) believ ed th at m u sica l p ro b lem s 
co u ld in fo rm sc ie n tif ic o n es , “ [Su p p ose] so m eo n e is 
g ettin g in terested in m u sica l p ro b lem s. He m ay th en 
ap p ly w h at he fin ds th ere b a ck to h is sc ien tific re ­
search . T h a t’s so m e th in g w h ich m ay affect very m u ch 
the resu lt. 1 th in k it’s g o o d ” (R o o t-B e rn ste in , B ern ste in , 
itnessed w hile m ou n tain 
c lim b in g . W illiam L ip sco m b (N P ) co m m e n ts that su ch 
beau ty also drew h im in to sc ien ce : “I have seen the 
g lory effect, an d have m ad e a W ilso n c lo u d ch a m b er 
w h en 1 w as a y ou th . B oth effects are beau tifu l in d eed ” 
(C u rtin , 1 9 8 2 , p. 1). He w en t on to say o f h is N obel 
P riz e -w in n in g w o rk : “I w ould certa in ly n o t sep arate 
aesth etics from sc ien ce . . . the p ro cesses th at 1 u sed 
an d th e resp o n ses that I fell w ere m o re like th o se o f an 
artist [th an a sc ien tis t]” (C u rtin , 1 9 8 2 , p. 2 0 ) R obert R. 
W ilso n (N A S) agreed , arguing th ai, “m ost o f th e effort
o f [cyclotron] design is in tuitive, th at aesth etics are in ­
deed a valuable and necessary guide in any design p ro ­
cess , that th ese very h u m an qu alities are an im p ortan t 
part o f physics and give to p hysics a qu ality o f h u m a n ­
n ess” (W ilso n , 1 9 7 8 ) . And for very sim ilar reasons, 
G eo rg von Bekesy (N P ), “a true R en aissance m an . . . 
stu d ied art n o t on ly for the great p leasure it gave h im , 
bu t also for an effect th at he believed it w ould have on 
h is m ind . C om p arin g o n e art o b je c t w ith a n o th er to 
d eterm in e qu ality and authentic ity, he th ou gh t, greatly 
im proved h is ab ility to m ak e ju d g m e n ts ab o u t the 
qu ality o f sc ien tific w ork too . . . there is n o qu estion 
that art pervaded all o f B ekesy ’s s c ie n c e .”
S o m e o f these sc ien tists and th eir b iog rap h ers have 
even m ade exp lic it th e co n cep t o f integrated n etw orks 
o f en terp rise . Harry H ess’s (N A S ) b iog rap h er w rote that, 
“T h e se [apparently] sep arate activ ities in term esh ed and 
co m p lem en ted each ' o th er . . . every thread o f activ ity 
and research in terest . . . im p ercep tively in terw oven 
w ith tim e in to a p attern o f in creasin g b read th , co lor, 
an d co m p le x ity ” W illiam D alby’s (N A S) b iog rap h er 
sim ilarly co m m e n te d , “h o b b ie s w ere barely d istin ­
g u ish able from sc ien tific research ” and Karl Z iegler’s 
(N P ) th at h is avocation s “u n d o u b ted ly co n trib u ted to 
h is su cce ss” (Ja m e s , 1 9 9 3 , p . 4 5 4 ) . F o r th ese sc ie n ­
tists, sc ien ce is on ly part o f b ein g h u m a n , n o t th e en d - 
all and be-a ll o f th eir ex isten ce. T h u s , w e find R oald 
H offm ann (N P ) sayin g that, “W riting , ‘th e m essage that 
a b a n d o n s,’ has b eco m e in creasin gly im p ortan t to m e. 
I ex p e ct to p u b lish four b o o k s for a general o r literary 
au d ien ce in the n ex t few' years. S c ie n ce w ill figure in 
th ese, b u t on ly as a p art, a vital part, o f th e risky en ter ­
prise o f b e in g h u m an ” (H offm an n , n .d .).
T h e re latio n sh ip b etw een sc ien tific su cce ss and 
arts an d crafts ta len ts d o cu m en ted h ere , co m b in ed 
w ith th e ev id en ce o f fu n ction al in teg ratio n b etw een 
d isc ip lin es, su ggest that cu rren t sc ien ce cu rricu la m ay 
need to be broad en ed . As several o f the sc ien tists noted 
above, pu rely acad em ic sk ills are not su fficien t to train 
a p erso n for creative sc ien tific w ork . S u ch creative 
w o rk req u ires th e en tire range o f ab ilities su b su m ed in 
th e arts and crafts, in tegrated and focused on sp ecific 
sc ien tific p ro b lem s and tech n iq u es. To train the best 
sc ien tists m ay th erefore requ ire w h at is o ften ca lled a 
“liberal arts ed u ca tio n .” T h is is n ot a new' co n clu sio n . 
W H. Bragg (N P ) argued in the first h a lf o f th e 2 0 th 
cen tu ry that arts and crafts stim u late sc ien tific devel­
o p m en t (e .g ., O ld Tracies a n d N ew K n ow ledge) and his 
so n , W. L. Bragg (N P ), co n clu d ed in a 1 9 4 2 rep ort for
the R oyal S o c ie ty th a t, “The' tra in in g o f o u r p h y sicists 
is literally to o a ca d em ic” (Bragg , 1 9 4 2 , p. 7 9 ) .
In a 1 9 4 7 p o ll, th e s ta rred sc ie n tis ts in A m erican 
M en o f S c ien ce ag reed : w h ile 7 4 % rep o rted little (3 5 % ) 
o r n o ( 3 9 % ) fine arts tra in in g , 8 0 % stro n g ly re co m ­
m en d ed fine arts tra in in g as an essen tia l c o m p o n e n t 
o f sc ie n tif ic e d u ca tio n (V ish er, 1 9 4 7 ) . O u r data p ro ­
vide th e first rig o ro u s b asis for th e ir o p in io n s.
N otably , th e resu lts and in terp re ta tio n provided 
abov e are co n so n a n t w ith th e tren d o f p sy ch o lo g ica l 
research in to p erso n ality factors th at are asso ciated 
w ith creativ ity in g en eral. O n e o f th e best co rre la tes 
o f d em o n stra ted creativ ity is o p en n e ss to e x p e rie n ce 
(C h a m o rro -P rem u z ic & F u rn h a m , 2 0 0 5 ; M cC rae, 
1 9 8 7 ) . O p e n n e ss to e x p e rie n ce is o n e o f th e m a jo r 
d o m a in s d efin ed w ith in th e F iv e-F a cto r M odel (G o ld ­
berg , 1 9 9 3 ; M cC rae & Jo h n , 1 9 9 2 ) , an d it is c h a ra c ­
terized by an u n u su al d eg ree o f cu riosity , d esire for 
learn in g , pu zzle so lv in g , and a d esire to th in k ca re ­
fully a b o u t ideas. H avin g a d iversity o f av o catio n s and 
h o b b ie s is o ften re lated to o p en n e ss to e x p e rie n ce (re ­
v iew ed in C h a m o rro -P re m u z ic & F u rn h a m , 2 0 0 5 ) . It 
fo llow s th at a v o ca tio n s and h o b b ie s sh o u ld b e related 
to creativ ity as w e have d em o n stra ted h ere .
O n e ca n go o n to a sk w h y su ccessfu l sc ien tis ts 
are m o re lik e ly to b e o p en to n o v el ex p e rie n ce s th a n 
th e average sc ien tis t. O n e p ossib ility , as S im o n to n has 
co n je c tu re d (S im o n to n , 1 9 8 8 ) , is th at su ccessfu l s c i ­
e n tists w ere ex p o sed to a w id er range o f cu ltu ra l e x ­
p e rie n ce s as ch ild re n an d a d o le scen ts , an d that th ese 
early ex p e rie n ce s h elp ed to crea te th e ir d esire for w id e 
in te llectu a l e x p e rie n ce s la ter in life. C ertain ly , the 
G o ertz e ls ( 1 9 6 2 , 1 9 7 8 ) h ave showTi th at su ccessfu l 
p eop le often grow u p in fam ilies th at provide a ccess to 
an u nu su ally broad range o f in tellectu a lly stim u la tin g 
activ ities to th e ir ch ild re n . S im o n to n ( 1 9 8 8 ) has g on e 
o n to c o n je c tu re th at su ch o p en n e ss-seek in g fam ilies 
are eco n o m ica lly m o re w 'ell-to-d o th an average, b u t 
th ere ap p ears to b e n o hard ev id en ce o n th is m a tter 
at p resen t. It see m s p o ssib le th at cu ltu ra l values m ay 
play at least as large a role in av o catio n al availab ility as 
s o c io e co n o m ic factors , given th e ex trao rd in arily sm all 
p ro p o rtio n o f C a th o lic N o b el lau reates co m p a red 
w ith p o p u la tio n , an d ex trao rd in arily large p ro p o rtio n 
o f Je w ish lau reates (e .g ., Z u ck erm a n , 1 9 7 7 ) .
F in ally , o n e m ig h t a sk w h e th e r b ro ad av o catio n a l 
in tere sts , o p en n e ss to novel e x p e rie n ce s , an d cre a tiv ­
ity are s im p ly fu n c tio n s o f g en eral in te llig en ce . T h is 
is a lm o st ce rta in ly n o t th e case . E m in en t sc ie n tis ts d o
n o t d iffer in IQ (as m easu red by v a rio u s tests) from 
th e ir le ss-su cce ssfu l co lle a g u es (e .g ., C o le & C o le , 
1 9 7 3 ; M a cK in n o n & H all, 1 9 7 2 ; R oe, 1 9 6 6 ; R oo t- 
B ern ste in , B ern ste in , & G a m ie r, 19 9 3 ) . M a cK in n o n 
( 1 9 6 2 ) argued from h is s tu d ie s th at ab o v e an IQ o f 
a b o u t 1 2 0 , crea tiv e ab ility is d e term in ed by n o n in - 
le llec tiv e facto rs , an d T erm a n ( 1 9 5 4 ) fou n d n o re ­
la tio n sh ip b etw een h ig h IQ an d crea tiv ity in h is 
lo n g itu d in a l s tu d ie s o f p eop le w ith IQ s a b o v e 1 3 5 . 
In d ee d , a m o n g N obel lau reates w h o have revealed 
th e ir IQ test sc o re s , R ich ard F ey n m a n rep o rted th at 
h is IQ w as 1 2 6 (G le ick , 1 9 9 2 ) ; Ja m e s W a tso n , 1 2 4 
(W a tso n , 1 9 6 8 ) ; W illia m Sh o ck ley , 1 2 5 (S h u rk in , 
2 0 0 7 ) ; and Luis A lverez ’s w as b e lo w 1 3 5 (h e did n ot 
q u alify for T e rm a n ’s “g e n iu s” stu d y [A lvarez, 1 9 8 7 ] ) . 
Sim ilarly , H u d so n fou nd th a t th e vast m a jo rity o f the 
high IQ b o y s w h o m he s tu d ie d sh o w ed very d istin ct 
p re fe ren ces to e ith e r s c ie n c e s o r arts an d h u m a n ities , 
b u t rare ly b o th (see a lso P ark et a l., 2 0 0 7 ) . N o ta ­
bly, how ever, H u d son ( 1 9 6 6 , pp . 1 3 5 ff) fou n d that 
th ere w ere a sm all g rou p o f w h at h e ca lle d “h y b rid s” 
o r “w ell a d ju sted a ll-ro u n d e rs” w h o h ad th e a b ility 
to b e b o th sc ien tis ts an d a rtis t-h u m a n is ts an d w h o 
w ere o ften th e m o st crea tiv e b o y s in h is study. These 
“h y b rid s” d id n o t d iffer in IQ o r stan d ard sch o la s tic 
lest sc o re s from th e o th e r b o y s in h is study. T h e y d if ­
fered sim p ly in th e u n u su a lly b a la n ce d n atu re o f th e ir 
ab ilities . M aslow ( 1 9 5 9 ) h as d e scrib e d su ch ad u lts as 
“se lf-a c tu a liz in g ” an d a ttr ib u te s th e ir h ig h d eg ree o f 
crea tiv ity to th e ir ab ility to in teg ra te th e fu llest range 
o f th e ir ta len ts , a c o n c lu s io n in lin e w ith th e d isc u s ­
s ion o f “in teg rated n e tw o rk s o f e n te rp rise ” ab o v e. 
T h u s , for p eo p le w ith n o rm a l o r a b o v e n o rm a l in te lli ­
g en ce , p o ly m a th y (M . R o o t-B e rn ste in , 2 0 0 8 ; R. R oo t- 
B e rn ste in , 2 0 0 8 ; R o o t-B e rn ste in & R o o t-B e rn ste in , 
1 9 9 9 , 2 0 0 4 ) — w h ich is to say, a b a la n ce o f a b ilit ie s , 
as in d ica ted by a ran ge o f a v o ca tio n s p ra ctice d at an 
in ten siv e level, o r h ig h sc o re s o n b o th th e verbal and 
m a th e m a tica l p o rtio n s o f SAT tests , o r a ran g e o f w ell- 
d ev e lo p ed “m u ltip le in te llig e n ce s”— m ig h t be a b e t ­
te r in d ica to r o f p o ten tia l crea tiv ity th an IQ p e r se.
It fo llow s from th ese g en eral p sy ch o lo g ica l c o n ­
s id e ra tio n s th at th e eq u a tio n b etw een sc ie n ce s and th e 
arts and crafts ap p ears to be co m m u ta tiv e a m o n g very 
crea tiv e p eop le . An in fo rm al and in co m p le te stu d y o f 
N obel lau reates in L itera tu re sh o w s th at at least 2 0 % 
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w o rk ed p ro fessio n a lly in th ese fie ld s (R o o t-B e rn ste in 
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A cknow ledgm ents. This research was funded by the O f­
fice of the Provost, Michigan Stale University, in support of 
the Freshm an Honors Research Program, Honors College.
Correspondence regarding this article should be directed 
lo Robert Root-Bernsiein, PhD, Department o f Physiology, 
2 1 7 4 BPS, Michigan Stale University, East Lansing, Ml 
4 8 8 2 4 . E-mail: rootbern@m su .edu
A P P E N D I X
B iograph ical M em oirs (available o n JS T O R ) and som e 
cu rren tly available W eb sites featu ring art and p h o to ­
g raphs by N obel laureates, and N ational A cadem y and 
Royal Society m em b ers m en tion ed in this article : 
Frederick Banting (Noble Prize): http://www.ntpl.ca/ws_ 
par/banting/m ain.him l 
W aller Gilbert (Noble Prize): http://wallygilbert.artspan. 
com http://w allygilbert.30ari.com http://www.waHy 
gilberi.co.uk
Roger Guillem in (Noble Prize): hup://www.hoIbornga 11 ery. 
com /guillem in-m ain.htm l http://www.duganne.com/ 
gallery.html
Sir Cyril HinsheKvood (Noble