I’m not sure if the claim that solitude is necessary for creative work, or just that it’s one good input for creative work. But to the extent the claim is that it’s necessary, I think I’m skeptical. A lot of my ideas come from reacting to other people’s ideas, whether in reading or podcasts or conversation. So it’s possible to get ideas without solitude. I’ve also definitely had the “shower thoughts” experience of course. But it’s definitely not the only source of good ideas for me (insofar as any of my ideas are any good).
The claim is that it’s helpful, not that it’s necessary. I certainly agree that good ideas can come from low-solitude things like conversations.
But I think solitude also has lingering benefits. Like, maybe experiencing some solitude puts you in position to have productive conversations. On the other hand, maybe if you spend weeks in solitude-debt you’ll be in a poor position to have productive conversations. Something like that.
I’m not sure if the claim that solitude is necessary for creative work, or just that it’s one good input for creative work. But to the extent the claim is that it’s necessary, I think I’m skeptical. A lot of my ideas come from reacting to other people’s ideas, whether in reading or podcasts or conversation. So it’s possible to get ideas without solitude. I’ve also definitely had the “shower thoughts” experience of course. But it’s definitely not the only source of good ideas for me (insofar as any of my ideas are any good).
The claim is that it’s helpful, not that it’s necessary. I certainly agree that good ideas can come from low-solitude things like conversations.
But I think solitude also has lingering benefits. Like, maybe experiencing some solitude puts you in position to have productive conversations. On the other hand, maybe if you spend weeks in solitude-debt you’ll be in a poor position to have productive conversations. Something like that.