TheRoseElephant

True. After looking at a graph having to do with race, ethnicity, gender, and age, it's all kind of all over the place with the expected jumps around the teen years, and considering that's when you first start to break off and form realities of your own and understand that the reality where you live is different, that difference could very likely lead to the need to a new philosophy: my reality, or no reality. I wonder if there are any studies on animals committing suicide? I know I read something once about old, feeble wolves leaving their pack so as not to slow them down. Maybe these two things connect to lead to the need for suicide. The fact that your reality will never be everyone's reality leads to a feeling of uselessness to the world because you can't think like them, and that feeling of uselessness combined with your desperation of realty-crisis is what makes it possible. Your desperation is your motivation and your hopelessness is your instinct-override. This is all just a big brainstorm, of course. Oh, and sorry, Der Neugierige. I was lucky enough to be raised into a household liberal enough to not care, even if "the-f-word" wasn't out of the question as long as it wasn't in reference to me being gay. I find the best remedy is to distance yourself- you are the only one who can make your life complete, to complete your own reality. Especially if any of this is true, pack mentality can be... extremely debilitating.

There are a lot of mainstream addictions out there, most of them closely associated with a destructive or debilitating lifestyle, but as I looked through the list, I thought of a few things that some might consider addictive. For example, I have drawn my entire life as a way of relieving tension, but it has incredible affects on my focus. When I go through a period of time in school when I get stressed, whether it be over grades, people, or simply not understanding a concept, I immediately turn to drawing. Most people would call this a bad habit, but it rarely mattered the consequences I'd face, I had to draw. My teachers would take away my pencil, and I would be unable to focus, constantly itching to draw. I think it may be a bit more severe than just a "bad habit". It could be a stimming behavior, or a compulsion, but because drawing is such a common practice and severely romanticized, it's usually brushed off as a passion. However, I can not imagine doing this for a living. I'd rather work as a farm hand than a graphic designer. I'm sure there are many similar cases, both with drawing and other behaviors that could be considered neurotic and compulsive. Although they may be nondestructive or common, could these behaviors be called obsessive compulsions, or addictions? Does anyone have another behavior that could be considered a socially accepted compulsion?

I used to think about this all the time from an evolutionary standpoint, and came up with the idea that it all has to do with looking out for the species as a whole. If an organism with thick ties to a social structure views itself as weak, it may be an evolutionary advantage to leave the pack so as not to pass on weak traits or become a burden. However, this would heavily conflict with the biological urge to pass on our genes. It might also be explained by mental instability, which can drive people to develop all kinds of behaviors that are straight out impractical for survival. Anybody able to elaborate?

I've seen a lot of answers that just barely scrape the surface of the question. Yes, people with passions for math and sciences are likely to be more curious about the subjects, and therefore be good at it. The question, I think, is what in the brain determines this skill? Does preference determine skill, or does skill determine preference, and what in the brain decides either of these? Is it the psychological composition of the brain from birth, or does somebody develop an interest through their experiences in life?