There was time, when religion was dominant, that the way to make sense of otherwise seemingly inexplicable conditions such as major mental illnesses - schizophrenia and manic depression, for example - was to suggest that sufferers had some inner path to God, that they were holy fools, seers, visionaries. In these more secular days, when art has replaced religion, experts suggest that mental illness and creativity are crucially linked. In [...]

What does it mean to say that someone is a man? The simplest answer would appear anatomical - we identify someone as a man if he has testicles and a penis. True, there are all those interesting qualifications concerning certain unusual chromosomal disorders and hormonal abnormalities that can confuse the issue. Nevertheless, most people assume that the person who enters the Gents side of a public lavatory, or runs in [...]