We’re a Niche, We Just Didn’t Know
Metadata
Highlights
- When I finally entered technology (hoping, correctly, that in that sector you can be anyone as long as you can think for yourself), my self-grouping became so complicated that my therapist said she enjoyed working with me “as a challenge”.
- The I.I. is people coming together online and thinking about more organized forms of exchange, collaboration, and a new type of IRL. It’s a matter of identity to some of us. Encounters have changed lives and careers…
- Those around the I.I. show an active interest in transcending traditional disciplinary boundaries — science, design, philosophy, government, etc. — to create new combinations that are more useful for how we actually live, work and think today. We seem to prioritize open discussion and collaboration across differences, and establishing projects that can address real-world questions better.
- The I.I. is active at self-curating editorial content, by us and for us, based on values of free and participatory critical thinking. Our online activity is partly about combining content from a variety of different outlets, with ourselves being our own quality assurance.
- We are inquisitive people who trust inquisitive people, even in situations when this is impractical.
- There is an observable effort to start discussions about changing norms, hierarchies and roles within society. We seem to agree that social equality cannot be achieved unless we find a widely accepted way to talk about it.
- We know that real breakthroughs come from original combinations, unexpected patterns and transplantable knowledge. We think multidisciplinary lives should be celebrated!
- We seem determined to build our careers, relationships and selves step-by-step, iterating as we proceed, and looking to be proven wrong when needed.
- The I.I. believes people are many-layered and full of promise — creatures who strive to do good, to be useful and to help their fellow humans.