Type “Harry Potter,” “Robert Langdon,” or “Daenerys Targaryen” into any search engine, and you’ll find countless pages detailing their beliefs, values, flaws, and life stories, as if they were real people. I’m not talking about the actors, Daniel Radcliffe, Tom Hanks, or Emilia Clarke, but the fictional characters they brought to life. These characters, born…
My doctor says it’s okay to exercise, but when it becomes a strain, you better quit. Mohamed Ali : Man, your doctor don’t know what he’s talking about. That’s what you want to do, strain. You want to run into the pains. You want to run until your throat feels like sandpaper. You want to…
We like to believe that our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors stem from rational and observable mechanisms. But what happens when invisible forces, hidden from conscious awareness, prove to be the true architects of our well-being? In the 18th century, Franz Anton Mesmer, a controversial figure at the intersection of science and mysticism, challenged this assumption…
Have you ever wondered what kind of minds conceived the Egyptian pyramids, masterpieces that have endured for over seven thousand years? Or the brilliance behind ancient Roman cities, each stone and column meticulously designed by human hands? These wonders weren’t the result of a single person’s effort. Behind every masterpiece stood a collective:A visionary leader.An…
In the world of rap, some artists possess the extraordinary ability to craft lyrics on the spot, spontaneous, impactful rhymes delivered with precision, all seamlessly riding an unforgiving beat. What may appear to be pure talent is, in fact, underpinned by remarkably complex brain mechanisms. Thanks to recent advances in neuroscience, we can now better…
Far from being merely a strange or eccentric aesthetic, art brut opens a rare window onto the inner workings of subjectivity. These works are not to be viewed as symptoms to decode, but rather as singular attempts to hold together an often fragmented inner world. This article explores how, in psychosis, art can take on…
What if a simple traffic jam was all it took to push an ordinary man over the edge? Falling Down, directed by Joel Schumacher in 1993, stars Michael Douglas as William Foster, a seemingly average man who spirals into violence after a cascade of everyday frustrations. More than just a psychological thriller, this cult classic…
“There is no great genius without a touch of madness.” , Aristotle Since antiquity, the idea of a link between madness and artistic creation has haunted the human imagination. Long confined to the realm of poets and philosophers, this question found new ground for exploration with the rise of psychoanalysis: the unconscious. From Freud onward,…
My name is Tarik Bouchnayf, and I’m a fiction writer working across several genres, including epic fantasy, science fiction, and dystopia. With eight published novels, I’ve embarked on a journey that continues to evolve with every story I write.In this series of posts, I’ll be sharing my personal experiences and reflections on writing novels, especially…
Madness and Civilization, first published in 1961, is one of Michel Foucault’s foundational works. Widely regarded as a pioneering study in the history of thought and social philosophy, this book examines how the concept of madness was constructed within Western societies. Targeted at readers interested in philosophy, sociology, and the humanities, Foucault’s work challenges modern…