diff --git a/notes/knoledge-hydrant.md b/notes/knoledge-hydrant.md index f47efb1..cffed2e 100644 --- a/notes/knoledge-hydrant.md +++ b/notes/knoledge-hydrant.md @@ -279,10 +279,89 @@ collaborations will develop. ## 2. ATMOSPHERE ### 2.1 COMMON GROUND + +People want to connect with others but aren't willing +to do so in settings that make them feel uncomfortable. Location plays a vital role in the life of a group. + +> Oldenburg's thesis is that people need informal public places +where they can gather, put aside the concerns of work and +home, relax, and talk. Germany's beer gardens, England's +pubs, and French and Viennese cafes created this outlet in +people's lives, providing a neutral ground where all are equal +and conversation is the main activity. + +**Hold public study groups where diverse individuals will all +be on common ground. The best locations are easy for +people to get to, but not too close to their offices or homes.** + ### 2.2 PUBLIC LIVING ROOM + +Great locations for study groups resemble large, comfortable living rooms. There are various types of chairs that may be rearranged, perhaps a sofa and rugs, some lamps or other warm lighting, and windows. When people feel comfortable they forget about themselves and may freely engage in dialogue. + +_Some of the best locations are quiet, aesthetic places that invite reflection_: a centrally located cafe, a spacious gallery or bookstore, a room with a magnificent view, or some nook or corner of a hotel or lodge. + +> Place each sitting space in a position which is protected, not +cut by paths or movements, roughly circular, made so that +the room itself helps suggest the circle - not too strongly - +with paths and activities around it, so that people naturally +gravitate toward the chairs when they get into the mood to +sit. Place the chairs and cushions loosely in the circle, and +have a few too many. + +**Choose a warm, spacious establishment where people will +enjoy mingling before and after study sessions, where there +is comfortable, rearrangeable furniture, plenty of warm lighting, and a variety of foods and drinks.** + ### 2.3 INTIMATE CIRCLE + +**Awkward seating arrangements alienate people and thwart a +group's ability to work together. The best configurations +allow participants to easily see and hear each other. Yet +many establishments don't provide either the furniture or +space to make this happen, or don't let groups rearrange the +furniture.** + +> ...**people will feel oppressed, both when they are either +working in an undifferentiated mass of workers and when +they are forced to work in isolation**. The small group +achieves a nice balance between the one extreme in which +there are so many people, that there is no opportunity for an +intimate social structure to develop, and the other extreme in +which there are so few, that the possibility of social groups +does not occur at all. +... +In our own survey of attitudes towards workspace -- taken +among workers at the Berkeley City Hall -- **we found that +people prefer to be part of a group that ranges from two to +eight.** When there are more than eight, people lose touch +with the group as a human gathering. + +**Choose a location with ample room, many tables and chairs, +and the freedom to rearrange the spaces to form rough +circles or ovals that may dynamically expand or contract.** + ### 2.4 VIRTUAL SPACE +**Without an online presence, a study group will lack a cost-effective way of advertising its existence, organizing events, +staying connected and attracting new members.** + +The trick to building a good site, is to avoid loading the site with too much +content that will regularly change, and to enlist the group's participants to +maintain the content that will need routine updating. + +If the study group keeps a [DISTRIBUTED DIARY](#46-distributed-diary) or provides feedback +to authors, it is a good idea to post this material to the site, for the edification +of group members, and to foster online dialogue. For conducting such +dialogues, a simple, group email server or service (such as eGroups) is useful. +[AGENDA](#43-agenda) are particularly helpful for members and non-members of a +group and are therefore best placed on the site. A good agenda will span +several months, giving people the chance to plan their schedules and study +readings prior to group meetings ([3.4 PREPARED PARTICIPANT](#34-prepared-participant)). + +**Establish an online presence where the study group's +mission, activities, and [DISTRIBUTED DIARIES](#46-distributed-diary) are posted, where members may continue dialogues, or chat, and where prospective members may learn more about the +group.** + ## 3. ROLES ### 3.1 ENTHUSIASTIC LEADER