Tom Bethell

Tom Bethell wrote a biography on Eric Hoffer: Eric Hoffer The Longshoreman Philosopher. On Page 91, he quotes from a letter that Hoffer wrote to Margaret Anderson: "I have done it every day for weeks. Each day I took a problem to the park and returned with a more or less satisfactory solution . . . The book was written in complete intellectual isolation. I have not discussed one idea with any human being, and not mentioned the book to anyone but you."

This original thinker and philsopher worked in complete isolation from others, and yet his work was so fine and seminal. I work mostly in isolation though my wife has proofed many of my blog site entries.

Both Hoffer and I are largely original thinkers, so perhaps individuators should do much of their work alone to be as innovative and creative as possible. Still, consulting with peers, especially after working alone to paint or write or generate a new invention, may be constructive and productive.

It may be the more isolated the great soul is while maverizing, the more profound and original is his thinking. Who knows?