Knowing how to be alone and being social is not a rigid dichotomy. I think it’s clear what Tarkovsky means: that there is immense value in self-discovery. I’ve

Knowing how to be alone and being social is not a rigid dichotomy. I think it’s clear what Tarkovsky means: that there is immense value in self-discovery. I’ve heard similar sentiments from other great artists. Grothendieck famously attributed his mathematical confidence to a long period of solitude in his youth where he independently recreated some major results. The late Harold Bloom used to say that reading is ultimately a solitary endeavor—that its purpose is to learn to have a conversation with yourself. However I think for reflective people there is a “danger” on the side of being too entangled in this conversation. Socialization can start to seem banal and unambitious in comparison. But I’ve found that this just suggests that you haven’t found people who aren’t in the habit of talking with themselves. I find this story apropos: There was a screening at the Yale Humanities Center of Tarkovsky’s “Ivan’s Childhood” that my roommate wanted to take me to when we were undergrads. I only reluctantly agreed—it was freezing outside and I had been cooped up in my room wrestling with a statistical mechanics problem set. Frankly I didn’t feel like we got along. But my decision to go became the beginning of one of the deepest friendships I continue to have and my endlessly enriching relationship with film and literature.