You're exactly right. Too often words like "alienating" are considered negative, as I did. As a tool that allows me to focus on my work, alienation is a good th

You're exactly right. Too often words like "alienating" are considered negative, as I did. As a tool that allows me to focus on my work, alienation is a good thing. Note that I'm not bashing serendipitous meetings, those are often the best (I met my wife that way). But I'm semi-neurotic (there's probably a word for it that I don't know, maybe ADD?) and find it nearly impossible to get back to my work if I'm even distracted for a short while.