The Madness of Adam and Eve: Did Schizophrenia Shape Humanity?

100,000 years ago we became human. A species of clever ape abruptly became something different. Technical, religious, artistic, musical, political, military and criminal abilities emerged and exploded. Rapid changes and murderous brilliance became the predominant features of our world. How did this happen. The first modern humans originated in Africa. From there they migrated over the whole of Eurasia and Australasia. These first humans carried with them the genetic basis of schizophrenia, the only major illness found to the same extent in all racial groups. This universal distribution shows that the disease must have been present before the races separated. Modern evidence shows that families where schizophrenia is present are also exceptionally creative in many different fields. In this radical book David Horrobin draws on his knowledge of medicine, of evolution, of psychiatry, of Africa and of nutrition to generate a startling hypothesis.