The Incompatibility of the Extraordinary Artist

Part 1: The Artists’ Dilemma

I stumbled across an interesting article, “The Alienation of Extraordinary Experiences,”by Tom Jacobs in Pacific Standard. In short, it cites three studies that find while people get an initial rush from extraordinary experiences, these experiences in turn cause then to be separated socially from their peers, and in the long run, instead of feeling special, they feel left out.

Now, we can make exceptions for the Narcissist. They will blather on ad naseum about their “great holiday” and inundate their peers with details never realizing how it separates them socially. But for the rest of us, while friends may be initially delighted at your two-week trip to France, they will likely spend more time talking to their peers who slaved away in their work holes.

“You got a sunburn on the beach at the Rivera? That’s nice. Wish I could do that,” they say. Then, they proceed…

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