ABSTRACT
It seems absurd that a psychoanalyst should be unable to assess the quality of his work. In attempting an assessment he has available popular repute, anxiety, or a sense of satisfaction and well-being about a piece of work that appears to him to be well done. The formulation is the end-product of a transformation; all transformations are associated with a particular vertex. Available mathematics do not provide the psychoanalyst with appropriate formulations. The ‘exceptional individual’ may be variously described as a genius, a messiah, a mystic, and his following may be large or small. The negative group declares itself an enemy of promise in a manner that may not be discernible to ordinary individuals, but is apparently clear to the gifted individual who seeks an atmosphere more congenial to the exercise of his gifts. The mystic may declare himself as revolutionary, or he may claim that his function is to fulfil the laws, conventions, and destiny of his group.
