Introduction to the Arrival Case StudiesaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaHome

Bill Dorris © 2009

First, to orient you, there are two parts to the Arrival analysis:

1) The book itself - The Arrival of The Fittest: How the Great Become Great - which is available in paperback and in pdf format online at Lulu.com. To access Arrival on Lulu, simply click on the "Home" link just above. This will take you to the webpage which has a link entitled, "Arrival on Lulu.com". Click that link and you'll go to the Lulu page where the book is previewed, and available for sale.

2) The three massive case studies illustrating the Arrival analysis. These are excerpted in various places in the book, and the full case studies along with extensive research notes are available on this website. What follows below is an introduction to these three case studies. You can access any of them by clicking on the "Home" link above, and then clicking on the photo whose case study you want to read.

Enjoy.

The case studies on this website are intended to provide comprehensive demonstrations of the Arrival analysis applied to three very different lives over the course of 20+ years of development. These were originally included in earlier drafts of the book (2002, 2004). This time (2009) I've put them online.

There are several reasons for presenting such extensive case studies

First off, while many of us tend to think of various 'greats' with reference to one or perhaps two defining characteristics - Mozart's 'perfect pitch' being the key to his compositions, or Einstein’s 'pure intellect' being the power behind his theory of relativity - in my experience becoming a 'great' in any field always involves the interplay of not one or two but typically five key characteristics. Moreover all of them develop over course of two or more decades of intense problem solving which elaborates initial genetic biases into incredibly complex, powerful, and compelling versions of intelligence, personality, and self. It is these key characteristics (typically five of them) which are unique to any given 'great' and which allow m to take on and solve the key problems of a field/ society for a given generation. Thus for example, the greatest productions of Hitchcock, or Woody Guthrie, or Norma Jeane (ie the creation of Marilyn Monroe) are down to not just the obvious intellectual or physical characteristics but to several far less obvious yet equally essential aspects of personality & self such as Hitchcock’s fear of an overwhelming and chaotic world, Guthrie’s terror of intimacy, and Norma Jeane’s perfect self doubt.

The three case studies presented here will hopefully allow you to experience the complex developmental processes involved in creating all of the key characteristics which were essential to Hitch, Woody, and Norma Jeane/ Marilyn. In particular they will demonstate the unpredictable and often chaotic influences which result in a future 'great' gaining access to 'the right kind of problems' (ie those which are essential to accelerating the development of a particular key characteristic - int, pers, or self) over the full course of development, ie 20+ years. In the process it will become evident that obtaining and taking on such opportunities has little to do with our mythical notions of such development being driven by the individual's efforts (struggles, courage etc) or talent (genius, creativity etc).

What in fact happens in each case is that opportunities to take on ‘the right kind of problems’ (as well as having the resources and interpersonal support necessary to solve them) come about due to the interplay of influences from what I've come to call 'the 4 worlds'. That is, it is the interplay between the individual's talents, interests, motivations, etc (personal world) and the 3 more powerful worlds e is ever embedded within - ie the interpersonal (family, friends, etc), institutional (school, film studio, etc) and societal (political, economic, cultural influences) - which determines what sort of developmental problems the individual is able to take on at any point in time.

Given the complexity of this developmental picture, the easiest, clearest, most thorough and compelling way to demonstrate it is through the use of case studies, case studies which followed the individual ‘great’ from birth through two+ decades until the person definitely had a foothold in s field of fame.

I chose to do case studies of Hitchcock, Woody Guthrie, and Norma Jeane/ Marilyn for several reasons.

I wanted to use ‘greats’ who would be familiar to a wide audience, individuals who clearly influenced society in the 20th century. In this regard Einstein and Picasso obviously would have qualified, so too would have, eg, Louis Armstrong or Charlie Parker. However, I also wanted to make the case studies easily accessible, in particular the details of the development of the key characteristics in each case. This was going to be tough enough for the personality characteristics, no matter whom I chose. I didn't want to add on cram courses in the likes of jazz, European art history, or late 19th century physics, as well. (I ended up doing this anyhow as there is a fair wack re Einstein in Arrival)

Beyond this I wanted to use three individuals whose greatest productions could in no way have been anticipated from their origins and early years of development. This would make it easier to show the interplay of all ‘4 worlds’ in determining access to ‘the right kind of problems’ over and over again throughout the course of their development. It would also make for a compelling read. Obviously the same analysis would have to be shown to apply to other 'greats', such as Mozart or Einstein. Hopefully this had been demonstrated at various points in the book which accompanies this website..

It should be emphasized that the three case studies on this website are not potted biographies.

The sort of analyses presented in these case studies has never - to my knowledge - been made before. What I've done in each case was make my own best determination of the key characteristics each person (Hitch, Woody, Norma Jeane) would have required to produce their greatest works (this is done at the outset of each case study). The case studies then try to immerse you in the experience of each person as these key characteristics develop over the course of two+ decades. In this sense the case studies will read more like stories than traditional psychological case studies. Aside from me flagging the interplay of all 4 worlds in determining the person's access to 'the right kind of problems' to accelerate the development of each characteristic, I've tried to bring alive the experience of development. That is, for eg, the experience of Hitch developing an active inner life Edgar Allan Poe would have been proud to be bricked up in; of Woody becoming a wordslinger; of Norma Jeane acquiring her survivor morality. While there is no explicit theoretical analysis presented anywhere in the case studies, there are extensive Notes throughout which document the theory and research underlying all aspects of these case studies.

The overall Arrival analysis which applies to all three case studies is of course presented in the book which accompanies this website, frequently with reference to examples taken from these case studies.

If you have questions or comments re any of the case studies, please let me knowaaaa Contact aaaHome