Every independent learner, hobbyist scholar, or amateur scientist eventually has to come to grips with something that our friends in the art community have known for a long time: by and large, nobody gives a damn about what you are doing. You have probably worked for the majority of your avocational career without recognition or reward, and may never attain it. We do not have the university appointments or jobs in corporate laboratories or positions at museums and libraries to give context or meaning to our work. We work without the emotional net of an audience.

It is also easy to fall into the trap that because we are not a gifted genius, it is not likely that one will ever do anything noteworthy. The task before the avocational intellectual is not just to do something interesting, but to acquire skills and knowledge and hopefully reach the point that he or she can work on a level at least within shouting distance of the professionals in one’s field.

Some years ago while reading my copy of Whole Earth Review (God, how I miss that publication!) I ran across a review for a book by David Bayles and Ted Orland called Art & Fear. Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking. The book sounded interesting, but it slipped out of mind and last year I re-discovered the review and on impulse purchased a used copy over the Internet.

If you are anyone who struggles with apprehension and fear and feelings of inadequacy regarding your work, you should read this book. Although written for artists, it has a lot to say to anyone who strives to pursue a field in which one must acquire both knowledge and skills that are sometimes maddeningly elusive. It is especially good for those working more or less on their own. Among other insights, Bayles and Orland point out that nearly all art–including good art–is made by ordinary people. The same applies, by extension, to other intellectual, introspective pursuits. From this they move into how one deals with expanding one’s abilities, developing oneself as a creative mind. They discuss the role of “talent” versus education and perseverance, the state of academia, but most of all (to my mind at least) offer invaluable advice on facing fears about yourself, about others, and eventually getting through life in the “outside” world.

In an earlier installment, I mentioned the role of confidence or the lack of it in independent scholarship and amateur science. This book may not be the cure, but it can offer a hell of a lot of comfort and wisdom.