CREATIVITY AND MADNESSgraduate programs in clinical psychology, both of which were in his
home state of Massachusetts. He had also applied to two industrial psy-
chology programs, one in Texas and the other in California. One night
he dreamed he was in an airplane, flying over a map of the United
States. The plane developed engine trouble, and the pilot announced
that they needed to find a safe place to land. They were right over
Massachusetts, and the student suggested that they land there, but the
pilot said it was too dangerous to land anywhere in that state. When he
woke up, the student realized that after spending his whole life in Mas-
sachusetts, it was time to move on. For him, the location of the gradu-
ate school was more important than the area of study. His dopamine
circuits had provided him with a new perspective.
DREAMING STORIES AND SONGSDreaming is a frequent source of artistic creativity. Paul
McCartney said he heard the melody for “Yesterday” in a
dream. Keith Richards said he came up with the lyrics and
riff for “Satisfaction” in a dream. “I dream colors, I dream
shapes, and I dream sound,” said Billy Joel in an inter-
view with the Hartford Courant about his song “River of
Dreams.” “I woke up singing that one, and then it wouldn’t
go away.” REM’s Michael Stipe wrote lyrics for the band’s
breakthrough song, “It’s the End of the World as We Know
It (And I Feel Fine),” the same way. “I had had a dream about
a party,” he told Interview magazine. “Everyone at the party
had names that started with the initials L. B. except for me.
It was Lester Bangs, Lenny Bruce, Leonard Bernstein. That’s
how one verse of the song came about.” Author Robert
Louis Stevenson cited dreams as a source for The Strange
Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Stephen King says that
his novel Misery came from a dream, too.