GenAl's hallucinations may turn out helpful if we use them well

Dreamt-up stuff can inspire human creativity if we consider it a feature instead of a software bug

- JASPREET BINDRA

German chemist Friedrich Kekulé was having a reverie, or daydream, of a snake biting its own tail, and he started wondering if the six carbon atoms in the benzene molecule had a similar structure. This hallucinatory experience led to the discovery of the hexagonal ring structure with alternating single and double bonds, a ground-breaking concept in organic chemistry. Kekule was not the only one.

Dmitri Mendeleev reportedly had a vision of the periodic table and Edison claimed to mine his dreams for material.

Writer Stephen King claimed to have dreamt up his novel Misery during a somnolent flight, and the masterpieces of Van Gogh and Salvador Dali were often inspired by hallucinations.