Penicillin is the perfect example of the emergent quality of creativity. From Answers.com:
On this date in 1928, Fleming noticed a bacteria-killing mold growing in one of the discarded dishes, and saw that the bacteria he was experimenting with refused to grow around the mold. A year later, he wrote about his findings, calling the mold penicillin. Two chemists, Howard Florey and Ernst Chain, continued Fleming’s work and showed that a refined form of the penicillin was successful in treating infected mice. By 1942, the drug had been tested on humans and the next year, it was already in use in the military, for treatment of soldiers with syphilis. Fleming, Florey and Chain shared 1945′s Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their work in the development of penicillin.
Creation by Celestial Voice on Flickr
The story of penicillin is not unlike the discovery of lysergic acid diethylamide or LSD. Dr. Hoffmann went on to personally research other hallucinogens in Indian and Mexican culture; an unusual career to say the least.Which brings up another interesting corollary of creativity, since a great percentage of the music written and performed in the last century has been under the influence of hallucinogens of one type or another. Altered states no doubt bring with them new associations and categorizations, which is a purpose of the exercise I talk about in the Practical implications of the Biology of Creativity to inspire ‘new’ thoughts. Finally, this post exemplifies emergence since one of the benefits of tags is that researchers may find this post looking for references of “Howard Florey” and stumble upon (pun intended) this website, which hopefully will prove inspiring in other ways.
