Figures

So just as I decide to end Socrates Cafe at work...it gets interesting.  Gaaahhhh.  A coupla newbies showed up last night and it was a really good discussion.  Last week, we decided to try a participant's suggestion wrt topics.  She used to attend a discussion group where the participants decided on the next get-together's topic at the end of the current get-together.  In the meantime, the librarian -- always the librarian, innit? -- would find some relevant yet brief reading and get it to participants.  In the event that no topic was suggested, the librarian -- again with the librarian; will our burdens never cease? (just kidding, people; I don't really feel that put-upon) -- would decide on a topic and get out the reading.

Annnnyway, no topic was suggested last week so I decided to talk about Plato's cave.  The reading is here, for anyone interested (it won't be there for much longer bc I'll shut down our cafe's meetup.com website when it ends in a few weeks bc we have to pay a monthly fee to list our cafe).  Bc this was the first time we were trying this out, participants had the reading only if they're on the mailing list (some folks don't do email and/or the internet) and were able to access that link.  The newbies obviously didn't know about it, but they were familiar with the cave, so that was good.  The oldies aren't on the mailing list, but I think either they were familiar w/the topic or the reading was so concise that they were able to join in quickly.  I think that book will provide some future brief topics, which is good bc it's right there at work and makes my life a smudge easier.

Yeah, so the discussion went well.  There was a lot of give and take; interesting takes on things; relation to individual situations yet in a good way (i.e., not in a well-when-I-was-young-I-had-to-walk-uphill-to-school-three-miles-in-five-feet-of-snow-both-ways-and-my-point-is-uuhhhhhh...).  Everyone had interesting contributions; everyone seemed to really listen to the others and bounce new ideas off what other people said.  It was really quite lovely.  The thing used to run from 6:00 - 8:30, but I shortened it to end at 8:00.  That's about the time the discussion starts to run out of steam, so a good time to end it...otherwise, it becomes like the endless goodbye at a party.  Not a terrible thing, but better to end it at a satisfying point so people leave feeling good and excited about the discussion and, I hope, looking forward to the next one, i.e., leave 'em wanting more!

So what contributed to the positive nature of the discussion?  I'd like to know so we can repeat those contributions.  I'm thinking:

• The newbies -- who came separately, but they both: -- were familiar w/the cave; had some prior exposure some time ago to philosophy; were interested in returning to that kind of discussion.
• The newbies exhibited (what I consider) good discussion behavior/etiquette, e.g., sharing the verbal space; really listening to, responding to, and building on others' comments; etc.
• The oldies responded similarly.
  • Hmmm, maybe it was the composition of the group?
• The reading was a brief, easy to understand summary of the cave; it was not the original text.
• Although they didn't have the reading or topic ahead of time for this first week w/the new topic approach, the oldies knew there'd be a topic already decided upon when they arrived and we wouldn't spend the first part deciding on a topic, but rather get right into it.
• The reading was a fundamental selection with some familiarity with at least some participants.
  • Hmmmm, maybe this new approach to topics is a good thing?
• The moderator -- that would be moi -- was more involved in the discussion than I had been lately.  I have to admit that the presence and enthusiasm of the newbies motivated me.  I was going into these last few meetings with a let's-get-through-this attitude.  I know, I know, not a good attitude, but there it is.  This translated into me not always pulling the last few discussions back on track; being less mentally involved in the discussion, i.e., I wasn't 100% there; etc.
  • Hmmmm, maybe the moderator's attitude change helped?

Now, as I've noted before, I do tend to think too much about how things go for other people.  But this was kinda my baby at work and I was disappointed for myself that it wasn't going as swimmingly as I would've liked, for myself as the moderator and for myself as a person with at least half a brain.  And my expectations weren't all that high; we're in a very average area, demographically speaking; we're not in a major brain-trust kind of area.  I mean, some of the wayward discussion was interesting -- if I were purely socially interacting w/people, e.g., at a party or running into them elsewhere or as a library ee and a patron, etc. -- but it wasn't interesting philosophically and I'm uninterested in moderating a social discussion.  It needs no such moderation and I'd rather be home w/a cuddly book and a good cat.

I sometimes think I come across as being totally uninterested in discussion, interaction, engagement, etc. altogether.  I must say, and emphatically so: not true!  PR people sometimes say that any publicity is good publicity.  IMHO, it's not similarly the case that any discussion is good discussion.  What I described above wrt yesterday's cafe is along the lines of what I think makes for good discussion.  Of course, others prefer more drag out kind of affairs and if that moves them, more power to them.  And different discussion styles work in different situations.  Chatting w/patrons at work is quite different from talking w/those same patrons at the cafe which is quite different from hallooing a neighbor which is quite different from catching up w/Enza at Roma....

BTW, tomorrow night is Roma night and we haven't been there in a few weeks and we need to catch up w/Enza and I need to have something yummy of theirs, maybe one of their Friday night specials.  I usually get the cafe eats from Roma, so at least I get some of their proprietary yumminess during the week, but poor Kevin hasn't been there for some time now.  Oh, you'll never take a good pie for granted once you get out of the northeast and see what those poor sods in other parts of the country have to contend with as alleged pizza.  Kevin and I still talk about the 'New York style pizza' of which we each choked down a tiny slice in Virginia and it's been probably over 10 years now: Bisquicky crust; dull, plain, jarred sauce; not-quite-mozzarella-cheese-that-tasted-more-like-some-kind-of-cheese-product...oh, one doesn't know what to say, does one?  Quite.  (Channelling Jeeves.)

Well, enough about me, now run along and talk amongst yourselves.