Is Ten Years After a great band name, or what?
July 22, 2010 6:24 AM Subscribe
Are you aware of any research (in Psychology or in Management) regarding a natural human period of peak productivity or peak creativity?
The closest I can recall is Bill James (Baseball Abstract Bill James) and his discussion of peak value versus career value and how baseball player performance is peaked at age 27. In terms of personal anecdotes my thinking is that ten years is a natural span. My favorite band had ten years when they were at peak form. Writers and other creative types seem to display similar behaviors. Northrup Frye said something to the effect that if we can safely assume Illiad and Odyssey were not authored by one man, there is no example of any poet writing two great epics.
I am looking for some tangible research to quantify this issue. If I wanted to make a magnum opus, not a feasible Ph D dissertation (I loved that sidebar ask metafilter answer from a few days ago), is ten years the block of time to try and schedule it?
The closest I can recall is Bill James (Baseball Abstract Bill James) and his discussion of peak value versus career value and how baseball player performance is peaked at age 27. In terms of personal anecdotes my thinking is that ten years is a natural span. My favorite band had ten years when they were at peak form. Writers and other creative types seem to display similar behaviors. Northrup Frye said something to the effect that if we can safely assume Illiad and Odyssey were not authored by one man, there is no example of any poet writing two great epics.
I am looking for some tangible research to quantify this issue. If I wanted to make a magnum opus, not a feasible Ph D dissertation (I loved that sidebar ask metafilter answer from a few days ago), is ten years the block of time to try and schedule it?
Best answer: Check out this article and its references.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:01 AM on July 22, 2010
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:01 AM on July 22, 2010
Best answer: Here's a PDF of one of those references. It's from an 1988 article in Psychological Bulletin entitled Age and Outstanding Achievement: What Do We Know
After a Century of Research?
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:11 AM on July 22, 2010
After a Century of Research?
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:11 AM on July 22, 2010
Response by poster: Civil Disobedient that is perfect. Do you know the answer to my "girl next door question"?
posted by bukvich at 8:42 AM on July 22, 2010
posted by bukvich at 8:42 AM on July 22, 2010
I'm pretty skeptical about using rational frameworks to quantify human creativity, which has an inherent intangibility.
But I am happy to make vague generalizations. Most artists are driven to make a mark on the world and express themselves. If they are successful in capturing attention, then a few years of fame might leave them less motivated to continue to sustain the intense concentration required to break more new ground. There are rare exceptions, artists who can re-invent themselves over a long career, but this is unusual.
I like North Frye, but he is wrong if he says no poet never wrote two epics. Townshend wrote both Tommy and Quadrephenia.
If you are meant to create a magnus opus, you will manage to schedule it in when you are fully motivated. It won't happen otherwise.
posted by ovvl at 11:58 AM on July 22, 2010
But I am happy to make vague generalizations. Most artists are driven to make a mark on the world and express themselves. If they are successful in capturing attention, then a few years of fame might leave them less motivated to continue to sustain the intense concentration required to break more new ground. There are rare exceptions, artists who can re-invent themselves over a long career, but this is unusual.
I like North Frye, but he is wrong if he says no poet never wrote two epics. Townshend wrote both Tommy and Quadrephenia.
If you are meant to create a magnus opus, you will manage to schedule it in when you are fully motivated. It won't happen otherwise.
posted by ovvl at 11:58 AM on July 22, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also, it is really hard to get lightning to strike twice. Major achievements are at least in part due to luck, and the second try is less likely to be lucky.
(Finally, for the arts, it is nearly impossible for someone to repeat a seminal achievement because of how arts are so directly tied into their "moment of the culture". So many things "worked" not just because of their greatness, but because their time had come. So when that artist does their next work, that is objectively as good or better, it probably will not do as well because it is out of time, or because expectations were too high.)
In other words, just try your best.
posted by gjc at 6:43 AM on July 22, 2010