
The Faces of Scenius - wellsjosephc
https://josephcwells.com/blog/the-faces-of-scenius
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errantmind
Good article, I hadn't heard of scenius before.

I wonder if it is harder, not easier, on the internet for scenius (of any
great magnitude) to form. A related article by Packy says the main blocker to
scenius forming on the internet is a common goal strong enough to unite
people, but I think this leaves something out: the root of a group embodying
scenius seems to be strongly held common values, like those expressed by the
initiation ritual of Ben Franklin's Junto, WITH some buffer space for free
thinking ("local tolerance for the novelties"). This does not necessarily
imply a lack of diversity of thought, just a common foundation, with some
space to maneuver without excessive judgement and indignation.

The issue is it is almost politically taboo to demand common values for
membership in a group these days, especially if those values are opposed to
some mainstream values. It is easy for non-mainstream groups to be discovered
and 'cancelled' by reactionary, opposing groups (usually people embodying
ressentiment). How do you go about finding people who really share your values
and are willing to organize around some common cause as is required for
scenius? Second, how do you protect such groups from being destroyed by
opposing groups? The more discoverable a group is on the internet, the more
direct opposition there will be to it.

~~~
wellsjosephc
Packy is experimenting with the idea of bringing people together based less on
a common value and more on a common curiosity.

He believes that if you get enough curious, ambitious people in the same
place, good things will start to happen.

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gwern
This kind of jumps into 'scenius' without explaining it. It links an essay
which would be a much better submission:
[https://www.packym.com/blog/conjuring-
scenius](https://www.packym.com/blog/conjuring-scenius)

