Jonah Lehrer reports on a new study that shows that "angst has creative perks":
[O]ur fleeting feelings can change the way we think. While sadness makes us more focused and diligent the spotlight of attention is sharpened happiness seems to have the opposite effect, so that good moods make us 20 percent more likely to have a moment of insight. The second takeaway is that many of our creative challenges involve tasks that require diligence, persistence and focus. It’s not easy making a collage or writing a poem or solving a hard technical problem, which is why sometimes being a little miserable can improve our creative performance.
(Image by artist Rich Bunce, featured in the London Independent Photography Show)