InterIntellect Salons
I have been attending the InterIntellect salons for the past 4 weeks. An InterIntellect Salon is like a dinner conversation. You have a topic and host (or more than one). You have a few guests who are interested in coming and talking about the topic.
I have been part of at least 6 salons so far. I want to connect with interesting but curious strangers and talk about topics or ideas of common interests.
My first salon was on authenticity. Maybe it was too late for me, and the topic needed more focus and attention, I exited from that salon quite early and slept off. The second salon was with Arden Leigh and Visakan; it was about aesthetics, symbols, and super interesting. The third salon was on objects and our relationship with them. Anna Gat hosted it. The fourth one was a super salon with the author Nir Eyal and Anna Gat.
I loved that super salon because I have been interested in Nir’s works for a while and I wanted to read his new book, Indistractable. It sounded a wise investment to put a 2 hours conversation with the author before jumping deep into the book. So I signed up for this salon. It was super fun. I also met @haideralmosawi in that salon. I liked the InterIntellect salons because they are not lectures or sermons. But it is more like an elaborate dinner conversation. What really attracted me to InterIntellect salon was the comfort and my yearning for belonging. I wanted to be part of a community or fly on the wall in some interesting and curious discussions.
Nir Eyal’s session was really a good example in which I wanted to know more about the topic. I could have invested my 8 hours of attention in reading the book or listening to the podcasts and so on. This salon was so interesting, and if the topic was really controversial, I could have asked my questions directly. I could decide if I need to delve deep into the book based on the conversation. After Nir left, we talked where we criticised the viewpoints and shared our concerns and doubts. This was a wholesome experience.
It is like being part of a dinner conversation with friends or family. You invite people to a restaurant or a party. You host them, and you try to see what connects with them and the common things that we share. We will definitely have differences, and our level of knowledge will be different. But the great thing about such conversations is the cross-pollination. An expert on one field can immensely benefit from getting some blindspots addressed by a novice or a newbie. A newbie can gain a completely different perspective in approaching a problem in their field based on an expert’s thinking in another field. That is what makes the conversation so powerful and effective. It is something uniquely common for the human species. We, after millions of years, have perfected this art after various iterations. Our languages and medium of expression have evolved in various ways to reach the pinnacle of conversation.
Yet, the medium conversation can be a double-edged sword when we focus on difference and try to prove who is better or good. If used in the right manner, a conversation is a delightful tool to unveil another person’s vulnerabilities and strengths. You can even peek into their childhood, their culture, their taste through the art of conversation. It is another medium in which too much preparation also helps or hampers. But if you are in the mindset of a host: a gracious, warm host, who can gently steer the conversation, it will be a delightful experience. I am so thrilled to explore more into the InterIntellect salons and perhaps host salons in the future.