Perceptions of Malevolent Creativity

What is it about?

What makes an idea both creative and evil? Does it have to be both novel and illegal? Does this refute the common idea that creativity is always good?

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Why is it important?

The results reported in this paper suggest that malevolent creativity - i.e. creativity with the intent to cause harm - is defined by novelty and legal ambiguity. This is somewhat counter-intuitive. It appears that malevolent creativity arises not through a combination of novelty and clear illegality, but in situations where the legality is grey and unclear. This may be because the legal uncertainty gives greater scope for variety.