Mad scientists - the insane aspect of the insanely brilliant

You can't behave in a calm, rational manner. You've got to be out there on the lunatic fringe. — Jack Welch, retired CEO, GE

One of the books that I'm currently reading through is entitled The Myths of Innovation. Here's a brief excerpt of what the author has to say:

In his book Creativity in Science: Change, Logic, Genius and Zeitgeist, Dean Simonton point out that "persons with low associative barriers may think to connect ideas or concepts that have very little basis in past experience or that cannot easily be traced logically". Read that last sentence again: it's indistinguishable from various definitions of insanity. The tightrope between being strange and being creative is too narrow to walk without occasionally landing on both sides, explaining why so many great minds are lampooned as eccentrics. Their willingness to try seemingly illogical ideas or to make connections others struggle to see invariably leads to judgment (and perhaps putting some truth to stereotypes of mad scientists, and unpredictable artists). Developing new ideas requires questions and approaches that most people won't understand initially, which leaves many true innovators at risk of becoming lonely, misunderstood characters.

(p. 12 / 13)