Something to
think about.
Read slowly.
Disagree freely.
This is not a content feed. There is no infinite scroll and no pressure to keep up. Read something because the question interests you. Send it to someone because you want to argue about it.
The Case for Changing Your Mind
Changing your mind has a branding problem. We treat certainty like strength, even when the more interesting skill is knowing when a belief has earned a revision.
↗ 02Why We Don’t Know How to Talk to Strangers Anymore
We say we want community, then spend most public moments making ourselves unavailable to it.
↗ 03In Defense of Boredom
Boredom is uncomfortable partly because it removes the usual escape route. That may be exactly why it is worth protecting.
↗ 04Whatever Happened to the Third Place?
Home is private. Work is productive. We still need somewhere that asks almost nothing of us except that we show up.
↗ 05Is Being Interesting a Skill?
The most interesting person in the room may not be the person with the best stories. It may be the person who makes everyone else more interesting.
↗ 06The Death of the Dinner Party
The dinner party does something modern social life is increasingly bad at: it gives people a reason to stay in the same room long enough for the conversation to change.
↗The article is only the beginning.
Bring the idea to a gathering. Question it over dinner. Change your mind halfway through. The Reading Room exists to give real conversations somewhere to start.