After all, Persinger said, there are interesting parallels in the realm of art. "We know that poetic capacity is a manic feature; we know from studies that at least 70 per cent of contemporary writers and musicians who are considered avant-garde or at the edge of our culture are manic depressives. The manic phase activates the brain to such a degree that parts of the brain functionally interact that normally would not. And so they can see things in the universe and even make predictions that are beyond the ordinary person. And that is what we call talent - or intuition."