Issue date: Jan 3, 1999

Special Report: The Brain
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What happens in the brain of an Einstein in the throes of creation?

That remains for now an impossibly complex mystery - though it's likely to involve more than just brain circuitry.

It may tap into something as ineffable as passion itself.

Recently, a Dutch psychologist tried to figure out what separated chess masters and chess grand masters. He subjected groups of each to a battery of tests - IQ, memory, spatial reasoning. He found no testing difference between them.

The only difference: Grand masters simply loved chess more. They had more passion and commitment to it. Passion may be the key to creativity.

By Jim Thornton
Thornton received a 1998 National Magazine Award for health reporting.
Photo Credit: SIPA PRESS