Intellectual Tree Rings
You—like ogres, trees, and pearls—have layers. You began as a small collection of simple sensations and ideas. You grew callouses over time from the messy realities of the world. Maybe at some point you have shed a previous layer entirely, leaving it in the past like a dry old husk. Other times, you can look to your past and trace a clear causal narrative: You are now A, which couldn't have happened if you weren't B, which was only made possible because at some point in the early 2000s, you were/did/came across C. Let's explore and share these self-narratives together!
Here are some guideline questions to chart the exploration of your tree rings (adapted from the KW Rationality and Rational Ottawa group), but feel free to depart from the letter of them if there's a more interesting answer to an adjacent question. Here they are:
Growing up, to what extent did your parents and family have an intellectual life? How and how much did they encourage you to have one of your own? Are there pieces of wisdom passed down through your family or your culture that you endorse?
How many and what type of periods would you divide up your intellectual life into? Avoid using things like "High school" and "University" as the category labels.
Were there experiences that you had in your personal life that radically changed your beliefs about something?
What is something you used to strongly believe about the world, but no longer believe at all?
What books or other media has influenced your intellectual life the most? How did they influence you?
Who was the first public intellectual you followed? Do you still like them?
Which public intellectuals do you follow now? Do you like them? Have a complicated relationship to them that you object to on framing on like/dislike grounds? Are you looking for more?
Which relationships a) reinforced and b) broadened your identity the most?
Historically, what were the kinds of things that you were interested in? What is something you are intellectually curious about now?
We'll take turns sharing our answers to these one question at a time in small groups, with some time in between for additional questions and follow up.