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Some weeks back, I was in a room with a group of guys, and we were having random discussions, which ranged from politics to sports to music to ladies and what have you. (Just normal guys' banter.)
All of a sudden, the discussion drifted into the latest developments in the tech world. I asked my friend, Flow, who's a web3 developer, to air his views on Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter and his controversial policies, as well as Jack Dorsey's Bluesky app, which he plans to integrate Blockchain's protocols.
As Flow and I began to delve deeper into the subject, the whole place grew quiet. It turns out that the other guys weren't technically inclined, so they couldn't contribute. The brief silence was broken by Dano, one of the younger fellows among us, who started laughing hysterically, and then the rest of the men joined in on the roar of laughter. They were guffawing because we were discussing things they knew little about.
Just so I don't come off as a killjoy, I managed a giggle. The discussion soon drifted back to a more pedestrian subject, which made "everyone" happy again.
Those guys' behaviour is antithetical to mine.
Even as a kid, I used to hang out with men who were far older and more knowledgeable than I was. They used to say things I had no knowledge of. Instead of growing uneasy and looking for a change of topic, I used to listen with keen interest, and perhaps I would catch a glimpse of what they were discussing.
As an adult, I'm still as curious and hungry for knowledge as ever. I enjoy innovative conversations. As a result, I often hang out with friends who are senior software developers. Sometimes, when they're discussing deep technical stuff, they'll want to water it down so as to aid my understanding. I mostly tell them not to step down from whatever they are discussing. The reason being that, if I don't understand it immediately, I will certainly understand it later as I keep listening. and that is always the case.
There are things that make sense to me now, but they made little sense when I first heard them.
Instead of switching off when people discuss innovative ideas I have no knowledge of, I will rather be pushed into researching them. When the next opportunity shows up, no magic will make me look like a total dummie on the subject.
I'm not expecting everyone to be like me. But it's always beneficial to emulate positive habits. To be successful, we must be able to learn many things and create a good network. If you must know, networks are mostly created by joining intelligent discussions. The benefits are enormous.
It goes without saying that humans are products of influence. Our habits, character, and attitude are mostly formed as we interact with people and things in our environment. What we pay attention to will ultimately rub off on us.
Sometimes all you need to do to learn a particular subject is to consistently be in the room where the subject is being discussed.
