In a message dated 10/24/99 2:28:12 PM Eastern Daylight Time, rbowman@indigo.ie writes: << Many great artists, for example, were kindly enough people - taking reasonable care of their dependents & so on. But they were, to a man, quite ruthless in not allowing consideration for others take priority over their obsession with their own work. >> This isn't quite what I was talking about. What you seem to be describing is, well, a "limited" selfishness, and the truth of the matter is that the artist puts not only others but **themselves** aside for "their own work," at least, the artists you seem to be describing above. What I was talking about was a pervasive selfishness, one that would be reflected in all facets of the person's life. And that a person so self absorbed would be pretty boring in the end. Jim