PROGRESS
- October 15, 2012 · 7:15 PM
It wasn't too long ago, historically speaking, that people expected that the world would look the same when they left it as when they entered it. Since the Enlightenment something has changed, though, and in the 19th century this sense was enshrined as a belief in social progress. At least in the Western world, we seemed to have escaped the Malthusian cycle and have set our sights on Utopia. Of course, each faction is working toward its proprietary version of Heaven....
Do you believe in Progress? Do you think it is a good myth to embrace? How is social progress intertwined with increasing technological sophistication? How does a society's commitment to Progress affect its members' individual philosophies?
This should be a meaty discussion about an influential, abstract concept which might already be on your mind at election time. Please help me prepare the way by supplying (in your RSVP) a topic question or two on the theme of Progress that you would like the group to address.
On the subject of proCess–we continue to experiment with the meeting dynamics to create a enjoyable and thought-provoking experience for all. September's meetings demonstrated that having any sort of master script is off-putting, and that free-form discussion can become uncomfortably contentious. Fortunately, there is a third way, by which we share control of the meeting, even without having to reach a consensus or requiring people to speak. (I guess I do believe in progress.)
Onward,
Jeff
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Jeff G
This was one of those meetings where the struggle over the theme's "definition" played an outsized role. The struggle was fun, though, perhaps because it puts the problem outside of ourselves and onto the "other" guys. It was also more illuminating than other times because I was expecting it, though I didn't expect that my prepared measures to avert it would fail;-) We had our first exposure to a platform innovation that showed promise of keeping our process experiments very small and independent, so that the flavor of meetings doesn't vary drastically month-to-month, nor do we get in a rut. Thanks especially to those who stayed afterward, for their constructive suggestions.
October 22
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Hannah
I am looking forward to this so much-I have high hopes, but because this group formed through Meetup.org, I'm not banking on anything cerebral-I just looked that word up, to be sure I knew what I was talking about, and apparently the linguists who coined the word don't even know what they're talking about...
October 6
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Jeff G
High hopes create a positive mood which is essential to creativity; expectations, on the other hand, can lead to rigidity. You may discover that the structure of the mind actually mirrors a collaborative discussion group!
October 7
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9 attended
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Gameli Anumu
Checked-in -
A former member
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