UK – population ~55milion – 114 Nobel Laureates
US – population ~250million – 304 Nobel Laureates

Per head of capita, the UK has ~2 per million, the US has ~1.1 per million. Obviously that is not a real factor in this, but I’d say working life in the UK is far more relaxed than in the USA, yet we still produce more Nobel Laureates per head of capita.

In my opinion, pressure stifles creativity and invention, rather than driving it.

Also, simplification is one of the factors that impact creativity.
A nice article can be found here.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2149673/A-Model-of-42-Models-of-Creativity-by-Richard-Tabor-Greene-20june06-pdf-for-global-distribution-FINAL

Yes, I concede my statement has shaky evidence. But that doesn’t mean it’s logically wrong. So here would be some of my responses:

1. Jamie points out Nobel Prize winners are not necessarily American but European. I think we should take the Nobel Prize as an indicator but not necessarily the only evidence of invention given we don’t know exactly how they choose people–I understand there is controversy over the picks.

2. We can’t simply look at the winners of a system. Yes, perhaps a society of relatively more pressure leads to Nobel Prize winners, but what about the losers? We would have to account for people that get discouraged from science who could have added something. I think about how medical school is a very competitive system with lots of pressures. I’m not sure if we necessarily get the best doctors out of it–there are lots of good people that get discouraged.

3. My statement would be more appropriately limited to the average office worker, not the highly talented researcher/athlete that is nearing perfection but needs some pressure to get to the top. My own experience shows that pressure paralyzes rather than motivates.

Ultimately it is an individual choice. I feel highly-talented people are always under pressure to produce, and at Stanford I saw how people buckled under the pressure. I want people to see there is another path to the top of the mountain. You should never feel guilty for a simple lifestyle, which is its own reward.