Ideas are social

In short, this talk has a simple message. We don't innovate quickly and we don't innovate individually. Ideas usually are born slowly and meticulously and are pulled into the world as we share our ideas (and obstacles) with people who see things differently.

Coffee houses do this to some degree. The salon is the classic example.

My approach to connecting with my closest friends has often been one on one though lunches and happy hours. This can be laborious and I often tend to do all the talking if my friends are even mildly introverted. The flow is one sided and we tend to exhaust our respective capacities for talking and listening. It's making me re-consider my approach.

One of the images he showed (below) was of a raucous dinner around a crowded table. In some ways it reminds me of my time at Governor's School. We would all pile into a single dorm room and spend the night debating, laughing and bouncing our pet theories on life off of each other. A while back I tried to start a small group in my house that was somewhat "spiritually" oriented. I think it was too structured. I did my best to curate a nice crowd of diverse opinions, but I think a free for all approach might have been better. We all come with our own problems and through the natural course of eating and drinking these would all come to light.

There are several organizations in town that do this sort of thing already (drinking liberally, free thought society). Really, any club that has an intellectual bent and shares meals will provide this opportunity. I think it's better for my style of learning/communication, though I will have to plow through the awkward "first dates" as I begin to meet the new faces. This would be a good start.

 I should also try to have at least one large dinner party at my house each month. Especially when when the weather is nice and we can sit around the fire pit and relax in comfort.