At first, the seclusion begat loneliness. Deprived of human companionship, Jason became depressed, unable to concentrate on his work. As time passed, these feelings intensified, until he decided that seclusion was a bad idea. "After the first three weeks," recalls Jason, "I was good for little more than getting drunk and crying. I had had enough. After lunch, I started off down the road, determined to have a lengthy conversation with the first person I saw. After ten minutes' walking, I noticed a spiderweb coated with dew silhouetted against the sun. It was very cold and foggy, you see.

I sat down by the web and became lost in thought. Suddenly, I was overwhealmed by a rush of ideas. Many of the problems that had stumped me for days were now amazingly simple! I rushed home to jot down my ideas before they fled. I spent the rest of the day applying these ideas, and after that, I was never tempted to leave again."