Eccentrics, David Weeks & Jamie James
Eccentrics - David Weeks & Jamie James, Phoenix, 208 pages (January 2, 1996). ISBN:1857993969
| Title & Author: | Eccentrics David Weeks & Jamie James |
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In Eccentrics, David Weeks & Jamie James summarize findings from a systematic study of "eccentrics": highly talented and unusual people. They infuse comedy and entertainment into the often barren landscape of social science research while investigating the fascinating characters. Eccentrics vary between genuine geniuses and charming crackpots. Their defining features are a refusal to hold commonly held beliefs and/or refusal to act according to the norms of society.
This is a delightful book that will give you more respect for the eccentricities of yourself and others. If you want to pursue an eccentric path then this book may alleviate your worries about appearing eccentric. After reading about the man who declared himself "Emperor of America" then almost anything you do will not be that eccentric. Will it?
David Weeks considers well-known eccentrics like the poet William Blake, the pianist Glenn Gould, and Albert Einstein. But forgotten figures like Ignatius T.T. Donnelly aren't ignored (his 19th-century book arguing that the Lost Continent of Atlantis was the source of all civilization was a bestseller). Weeks also presents charming contemporary eccentrics, who relish the opportunity to talk about themselves. Some, like Screaming Lord Such are (in)famous, and others are unknown. The book suggests that eccentrics can be fundamentally happier and healthier than many "normal" people. It thereby provides a thought provoking alternative to many standard positive psychology texts, which tend to equate happiness with "normality".
David Weeks and Jamie James illustrate eccentric personalities using light-hearted anecdotes and penetrating insight. By inventing themselves into anything they wish, eccentrics take the basic human prerogative of free choice and force it to the limit. Thus, research reveals that eccentrics are healthier, happier, and more creative than most conformists.
Neurotics suffer from not conforming to what is expected of them, or what they perhaps unrealistically demand of themselves. They do not conform because they prefer doing something else. They suffer because they think they should conform. Eccentrics are happy because they do what they want and don't care a fig about conforming.
"Eccentrics experience much lower levels of stress because they do not feel the need to conform," Weeks insists, which means that "their immune-response systems function more efficiently." But positive forms of stress like "the intellectual excitement of new ideas, have been found to trigger the release of slightly more growth hormone, which helps keep us young." Eccentrics are famous for playing with new ideas and generating excitement. Weeks has developed "eccentric-thinking therapy", which encourages neurotics to steer away from overwhelming seriousness by re-educating their sense of humour, having them watch comedy films and explore their creative side.
Weeks has been criticised by radical American psychiatrists for describing people as eccentrics. Maybe this shows a difference between British and American culture. In Britain, eccentrics are tolerated and people often find them endearing and respect their creativity.
- Eccentrics by David Weeks & Jamie James could inspire you to explore the limits of freedom and eccentricity in your life. Dare you read it?