I just finished listening to an excellent lecture by Richard Bushman on Joseph Smith and Abraham Lincoln, and he briefly mentioned Ben Franklin’s Junto group:
Both Lincoln and Joseph explored … ideas in informal discussion societies modeled roughly after Benjamin Franklin’s Junto a century earlier. All around the country, ambitious young men gathered to read and talk with the aim of improving themselves.
One such “society” is Dev Utah, which promotes a monthly Geek Dinner. I’ve been to all 3 dinners so far, and have found them useful for networking and learning. The next one will be this Wednesday at 6:00 PM in Draper: 2006 February Geek Dinner.
Whether you’re in a formal group like Junto Partners or a more ad-hoc (“degenerative” as Phil Burns says) group, you can get a lot out of a “discussion society”.
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