I have a habit of “ad-hoc Socratic Ducking” in the sense that I will talk out loud to someone about an idea I’m thinking of and explore it in real time, trying to see what it’s like and figure it out. The problem is that it can seem like I’m stating definite opinions about how the world works or a specific direction to take a project. This can get weird if it’s a taboo topic or a project that involves the person I’m talking to.
I feel like the key with this is awareness and encouragement. Both parties should be aware that they’re doing it, otherwise it can get complicated. If my partner doesn’t encourage me to go deeper, I may get self-conscious and turn off the idea-generator.
ITT
I tried to do an abbreviated ITT once—we ended up arguing about the setup/rules (or doing it at all) instead. Many people seem to not even want to pretend they could understand the other side’s viewpoint, as if it’s so morally repugnant that the ideas are unspeakable. I think this is often a thin veil to cover up for the mismatch between the fragility of one’s stance and the fervor they defend it with.
Rabbitholes
Some of my favorite conversations were with my college roommate as a freshman. Time became a limit—we had to choose what to talk about, otherwise we’d talk through the night. It felt like an all-you-can-eat-buffet of ideas and interesting thoughts—we started talking about something but then we’d see a new shiny thought somewhere else. So we started writing down the branches of our conversations so that we wouldn’t get too lost. I don’t think we ever really revisited it but it was a nice way to feel okay with deferring a certain branch of the conversation.
A lot of those branches still feel very open. Even though we haven’t talked about some of them for years, we’ve been able to pick right back up on a few of them.
Socratic Ducking
I have a habit of “ad-hoc Socratic Ducking” in the sense that I will talk out loud to someone about an idea I’m thinking of and explore it in real time, trying to see what it’s like and figure it out. The problem is that it can seem like I’m stating definite opinions about how the world works or a specific direction to take a project. This can get weird if it’s a taboo topic or a project that involves the person I’m talking to.
I feel like the key with this is awareness and encouragement. Both parties should be aware that they’re doing it, otherwise it can get complicated. If my partner doesn’t encourage me to go deeper, I may get self-conscious and turn off the idea-generator.
ITT
I tried to do an abbreviated ITT once—we ended up arguing about the setup/rules (or doing it at all) instead. Many people seem to not even want to pretend they could understand the other side’s viewpoint, as if it’s so morally repugnant that the ideas are unspeakable. I think this is often a thin veil to cover up for the mismatch between the fragility of one’s stance and the fervor they defend it with.
Rabbitholes
Some of my favorite conversations were with my college roommate as a freshman. Time became a limit—we had to choose what to talk about, otherwise we’d talk through the night. It felt like an all-you-can-eat-buffet of ideas and interesting thoughts—we started talking about something but then we’d see a new shiny thought somewhere else. So we started writing down the branches of our conversations so that we wouldn’t get too lost. I don’t think we ever really revisited it but it was a nice way to feel okay with deferring a certain branch of the conversation.
A lot of those branches still feel very open. Even though we haven’t talked about some of them for years, we’ve been able to pick right back up on a few of them.
Looking forward to talking to you!