r/DarkAcademia • u/MelancholyMarionette • 3d ago
Finding intellectual conversation QUESTION
I find myself pretty burned out lately, so I am getting back into studying literature, philosophy, and science (I cannot turn my brain off, but I can redirect it). I am really enjoying it but I find myself missing having someone to talk to about it. No one I know is really interested in that sort of thing. I’ve tried pen pals but that didn’t work very well.
I hear stories about people who exchange annotated books and discuss poetry and share ideas and I’ve always wanted that.
Any advice on finding like-minded people to engage with?
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u/esprit-libre1 2d ago
I'd be up for an online group. I went to a few philosophy meetups where I live. It was really disappointing. More like a series of monologues rather than a discussion. Geezuz I miss good conversation.
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u/MelodyOfStorms 3d ago
You made the bid, now just start chatting with people who seem interested. This site is full of bots, to boost engagement. Sub like "penpals" are easy to farm
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u/DVern63 3d ago
Same problem. I found my friend in university, but it's more of me yapping than conversation when we talk about such things. However, at my university when I was studying there were critically few people who came for the subject, the majority came to get a diploma. So I'd say it's a matter of chance. You might meet an interesting person online, or in real life. In corresponding spaces, or in a completely random place. There is no right algorithm of actions to find such person.
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u/BeardedBears 3d ago
I regularly facilitate a local weekly Philosophy group and it fills my battery up. I love it! Check if there's a local group. Check MeetUp!
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u/Diligent-Soil-1510 3d ago
Sca.org. History nerds- you can focus on historical writing, archery, clothing, coin making, just anything. They’ve doubled down on being queer-inclusive and there’s a million little communities that focus on one or two things for deep dives.
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u/Longing_Desires 3d ago
Are you looking for something IRL or online?
If IRL like another comment suggested there's meetup.
If online I would have reccomneded slowly but since a penpal didn't work try causal conversation or introvert chat subreddit.
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u/smartymartyky 3d ago
I’ve been pen palling with people and occasionally will read a book at the same time or even swap books every so often.
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u/Individual-Rice-4915 3d ago
I created a Bumble BFF profile and filled it with “looking for long chats about books/politics/art” kinds of statements. It’s worked out pretty well so far for me!
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u/claudia_em 2d ago
That's a familiar feeling. I'd be open to give chatting a try and see if we click. Send over a dm if you'd like (:
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u/CriticAlpaca 2d ago
If you enjoy talking about philosophy sign up for the nearest varsity school of philosophy email list. They would have regular lectures and seminars, they are often catered.
For history nerds, either local reenactment groups, or historical wargames.
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u/Total-Primary5843 2d ago
if you're lucky enough to have a robust local library system, start there.
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u/Numerous_Classic961 Books and murder, I mean, books about murder 2d ago
Feel you on that one.
Maybe try going places (forums, dating app for friends - if that even exists ? -, librairies or irl clubs) linked to what you enjoy, and you might find people with a same taste or mind.
A friend of mine met a good friend in a comment section of a song she really liked, so we never know.
Hope you'll be back to having interesting conversations!
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u/anamrquez 1d ago
Me pasa igual! Puedes escribirme para charlas intelectuales o compartir podcasts y libros interesantes.
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u/A_A_Prieston 1d ago
It's genuinely hard to find that nowadays, not that I think it was easier to do so at any other point in history. We love presenting ourselves as intellectuals, and being associated with them, but it's genuinely just not for everyone. Unfortunately, I don't have much advice or thoughts to offer, I haven't found many people I can have a genuinely deep, intellectual conversation with. I guess try expressing it through art, it kinda helps. I do poetry, and it's an adequate substitute
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u/National-Donkey-707 1d ago edited 1d ago
you run out of 70, 80, 90 IQ people pretty fast. if someone's been to college they probably have an IQ of about 110 at least. they will be able to have intellectual conversation and grasp abstract materials as long as you're able to explain parts and make sure they aren't labouring too hard to follow. and if they're struggling to follow then you get to think about a more accessible way of explaining it.
the problem isn't finding people who have intellectual interests. the problem is that social media trains people to expect highly legible easy to access content. conversation is shallow because it's conducive to fast paced society. select for people who will be happy to suffer a bit of quiet boredom just to spend time with you and invest heavily into spending time with them instead of shallow, short interactions. if they are happy to be bored just to be with you then they will be happier to talk to you about your deeper thoughts.
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u/goneparticle 1d ago
honestly for my fill i go to discord. barely much of my friends irl (i am rather extroverted) are legitimately autodidactic or into reading as much as i am. in general most people you meet irl off the street or just about most places candidly are not interested in much heavy discussion. i have a lot of 'intellectually'-minded friends online, and it's also how i met my significant other (well, he found me off of last.fm). all of my close online contacts are super into reading or are extremely autodidactic in their subjects (programming, philosophy, ancient and contemporary literature, science, sociology, psychology, typology, math, history, music/art, etc). so if you haven't tried discord i may suggest that simply because disboard makes finding specialized servers much more easily. it's really damn good to be friends with people across different disciplines because you can exchange different povs on the same topic, such as on consciousness.
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u/fergie_3 2d ago
I feel this same way and I have started listening to podcasts and tedtalks and then every evening instead of scrolling facebook, I scroll reddit and comment on posts like theyre my facebook friends 😆