While I totally agree with where you're coming from, too much of this site (and any site) is pay to play. Thank you for leaving the comments open. The modern Internet feels like a place where those of us without extravagant means have a piece of duct tape over our mouths and our fingers bound together.
Thank you Dave, I totally understand you. It is not easy with so many competing interests and life challenges. Conversations of important questions should seek to serve the majority. Thankfully I am blessed by those that help keep the conversation open, probe me and add to my knowledge. And ultimately help us all learn from each other. It is such a wonderful community here.
My aim is to always spark wider discussions to remove the 'duct tape and unleash the fingers.' As Curiosity Sparks says those images you raised are powerful, long may we be able to have open and honest dialogue and ask great questions.
I appreciate your style of writing in your comment. You raised three images in just a few words: pay to play, duct tape over mouths, fingers bound together.
And thankfully, this particular Substack unbinds our fingers, and invites its readers to remove any duct and to engage deeply with the questions in every article.
Indeed, let's move to more invitations to questions and engagement!
"...people who claim to despise politics so often talk of little else".
Oh does this ever hit home. I loath politics precisely because it occupies so much of my daily life, thus I speak of it frequently. Everything that happens in D.C. impacts me directly. I wish I could focus my attention elsewhere, but it intrudes on me in a violating fashion. I >must< speak of it, in hopes of influencing it, to however minuscule a degree. I also believe speaking of it helps process the trauma of it all.
Ah Colin, you've written a piece that so resonates with my whole life. I've been teased that my first word must have been WHY, for I learn and thrive listening to others express an idea in a way so unlike my own.
Plus, it's full of memorable phrases, like entering "into the kind of dialogue that breathes". Yes Breathes, for dialogue is a Living Noun, like a person, for it grows and has emotional context when participants are of like mind that it is a place , not to dominate, but to explore questions together in honest and raw open reflection. It requires trust.
Like you, I've experienced such conversations where playfulness of people has created pivots, where we wandered down tangents forgetting for a moment where we started. Those conversations are unforgettable.
Thank you for the invitation to always engage with your writings
Perhaps we shall yet find a way to create such a place for playful conversation in a virtual salon
Thank you Wendy, it’s so rewarding to hear when an idea connects with someone's own life path. Your concept of dialogue as a "Living Noun" is a beautiful addition, it perfectly captures that sense of growth and vitality that I aim for. That innate drive to ask "why" is the engine of all true discovery... curiosity:-)
You are so right that trust is the soil in which those conversations grow. Those unforgettable, meandering conversations are precisely what make this all worthwhile. I completely agree that we need more places for them, and someday we will connect for fun, laughter and growth in a virtual salon.
That innate curiosity drive is one I fuel in myself everyday, and one I attempt to restart in all my students. As we both know, it is too often extinguished as life goes on. It thrills me when my invitation into a living dialogue reignites a student's thirst for knowledge.
As for needing more places, we've conveyed this mutual hope before to make it happen, as well as the challenges of doing so. I really like the way you've describe it here, as a place of FUN, and Laughter , and a place where mutually respectful dialogue generates a place for growth in all who participate.
You are doing the beautiful work of unwinding the damage life does to our curiosity. And you're so right, the fun and laughter are the secret ingredients! They're what turn teaching sessions into a living dialogue. Every time you reignite that thirst in a student, you're building the very space we both hope for.
Fun! Laughter! Yes there are the secret ingredients.
Colin, what a beautiful way to express my life purpose, that it is achieved through an unwinding of the damage done to their curiosity.
I am certain that you do the same with your students, and just like me and many others in this field, we tend to do this with everyone we meet. Friends tease me but call it an endearing trait. This longing to reignite this thirst is a core element of my being; it is always present.
One notable living dialogue happened in a produce aisle, when a little boy asked me a question about a fruit, and as his mother listened to us chatting, it turned into a 10-15 minute learning moment. A few weeks later, I bumped into his mom and him in the canned vegetables aisle. She immediately told me he'd went home afterwards that day and for days he learned all about the produce sold in the grocery story. She looked around and said, "looks like we'll be learning about canned vegetables for awhile, won't we?"
"... He turns at corners, // twists on his heal to trap his following shadow". (1958, from the poem "Portrait of a Romantic" by A.J.S Tessimond [1902-1962]). The element of surprise in the creative process is always a good sign. Remaining 'open to be surprised' is an art-form, especially when you have a deadline to meet.
Although your articles are top notch and thought provoking, it is the comments (conversations) where the real magic happens. For those that rarely comment but devour every word (such as myself) reading the back and forth between folks like Marginal Gains and yourself is like eavesdropping on a fascinating conversation between two highly articulate friends. If it wasn’t so interesting it would almost feel rude!
Thank you for such great input Alexander. That's the highest compliment possible. The goal is for this to be an open conversation, so please never feel like you're eavesdropping, you are a welcome part of it just by reading along. I'm so glad you're here.
So love a good digression...as Laurence Sterne who wrote "Tristram Shandy" said... "Digressions, incontestably, are the sunshine;—they are the life, the soul of reading/writing..."
What a perfect quote! Sterne absolutely understood that the digressions aren't a detour from the path; they are the path. That "sunshine" is where all the best discoveries are made. Thank you for sharing this wonderful dictum.
While I totally agree with where you're coming from, too much of this site (and any site) is pay to play. Thank you for leaving the comments open. The modern Internet feels like a place where those of us without extravagant means have a piece of duct tape over our mouths and our fingers bound together.
To invitations! And to questions! 🥂
Thank you Dave, I totally understand you. It is not easy with so many competing interests and life challenges. Conversations of important questions should seek to serve the majority. Thankfully I am blessed by those that help keep the conversation open, probe me and add to my knowledge. And ultimately help us all learn from each other. It is such a wonderful community here.
My aim is to always spark wider discussions to remove the 'duct tape and unleash the fingers.' As Curiosity Sparks says those images you raised are powerful, long may we be able to have open and honest dialogue and ask great questions.
The capital of knowledge.
I appreciate your style of writing in your comment. You raised three images in just a few words: pay to play, duct tape over mouths, fingers bound together.
And thankfully, this particular Substack unbinds our fingers, and invites its readers to remove any duct and to engage deeply with the questions in every article.
Indeed, let's move to more invitations to questions and engagement!
"...people who claim to despise politics so often talk of little else".
Oh does this ever hit home. I loath politics precisely because it occupies so much of my daily life, thus I speak of it frequently. Everything that happens in D.C. impacts me directly. I wish I could focus my attention elsewhere, but it intrudes on me in a violating fashion. I >must< speak of it, in hopes of influencing it, to however minuscule a degree. I also believe speaking of it helps process the trauma of it all.
Ah Colin, you've written a piece that so resonates with my whole life. I've been teased that my first word must have been WHY, for I learn and thrive listening to others express an idea in a way so unlike my own.
Plus, it's full of memorable phrases, like entering "into the kind of dialogue that breathes". Yes Breathes, for dialogue is a Living Noun, like a person, for it grows and has emotional context when participants are of like mind that it is a place , not to dominate, but to explore questions together in honest and raw open reflection. It requires trust.
Like you, I've experienced such conversations where playfulness of people has created pivots, where we wandered down tangents forgetting for a moment where we started. Those conversations are unforgettable.
Thank you for the invitation to always engage with your writings
Perhaps we shall yet find a way to create such a place for playful conversation in a virtual salon
Thank you Wendy, it’s so rewarding to hear when an idea connects with someone's own life path. Your concept of dialogue as a "Living Noun" is a beautiful addition, it perfectly captures that sense of growth and vitality that I aim for. That innate drive to ask "why" is the engine of all true discovery... curiosity:-)
You are so right that trust is the soil in which those conversations grow. Those unforgettable, meandering conversations are precisely what make this all worthwhile. I completely agree that we need more places for them, and someday we will connect for fun, laughter and growth in a virtual salon.
That innate curiosity drive is one I fuel in myself everyday, and one I attempt to restart in all my students. As we both know, it is too often extinguished as life goes on. It thrills me when my invitation into a living dialogue reignites a student's thirst for knowledge.
As for needing more places, we've conveyed this mutual hope before to make it happen, as well as the challenges of doing so. I really like the way you've describe it here, as a place of FUN, and Laughter , and a place where mutually respectful dialogue generates a place for growth in all who participate.
You are doing the beautiful work of unwinding the damage life does to our curiosity. And you're so right, the fun and laughter are the secret ingredients! They're what turn teaching sessions into a living dialogue. Every time you reignite that thirst in a student, you're building the very space we both hope for.
Fun! Laughter! Yes there are the secret ingredients.
Colin, what a beautiful way to express my life purpose, that it is achieved through an unwinding of the damage done to their curiosity.
I am certain that you do the same with your students, and just like me and many others in this field, we tend to do this with everyone we meet. Friends tease me but call it an endearing trait. This longing to reignite this thirst is a core element of my being; it is always present.
One notable living dialogue happened in a produce aisle, when a little boy asked me a question about a fruit, and as his mother listened to us chatting, it turned into a 10-15 minute learning moment. A few weeks later, I bumped into his mom and him in the canned vegetables aisle. She immediately told me he'd went home afterwards that day and for days he learned all about the produce sold in the grocery story. She looked around and said, "looks like we'll be learning about canned vegetables for awhile, won't we?"
It made my day.
"... He turns at corners, // twists on his heal to trap his following shadow". (1958, from the poem "Portrait of a Romantic" by A.J.S Tessimond [1902-1962]). The element of surprise in the creative process is always a good sign. Remaining 'open to be surprised' is an art-form, especially when you have a deadline to meet.
Oh gosh Joshua, that is beautiful
But I never work to deadlines
Everything is from the heart to the brain, and
back again
Although your articles are top notch and thought provoking, it is the comments (conversations) where the real magic happens. For those that rarely comment but devour every word (such as myself) reading the back and forth between folks like Marginal Gains and yourself is like eavesdropping on a fascinating conversation between two highly articulate friends. If it wasn’t so interesting it would almost feel rude!
Thank you for such great input Alexander. That's the highest compliment possible. The goal is for this to be an open conversation, so please never feel like you're eavesdropping, you are a welcome part of it just by reading along. I'm so glad you're here.
So love a good digression...as Laurence Sterne who wrote "Tristram Shandy" said... "Digressions, incontestably, are the sunshine;—they are the life, the soul of reading/writing..."
A wonderful dictum...
What a perfect quote! Sterne absolutely understood that the digressions aren't a detour from the path; they are the path. That "sunshine" is where all the best discoveries are made. Thank you for sharing this wonderful dictum.
No thank you...