Darkness is a Kind of Light

At the risk of painting a happy face on everything, The New York Times had an interesting story about the Upside of Depression. Charles Darwin once lamented about the disease that saw him incapacitated “one day in three”, and that resulted in him thinking that “I shall probably do little more but be content to admire the strides others made in Science.”

Darwin was wrong because of various upsides to depression, including social seclusion (which allows you to get lots of work done), and the motivating force withing the need to find personal solutions. He concluded that sadness is useful as it “leads an animal to pursue that course of action which is most beneficial…the darkness (is) a kind of light.”