Quote:
Originally Posted by mike_bike_kite
I'm not even sure how many great thinkers there are out there these days that I'd like to have a beer with. Stephen Hawkins might be difficult, Craig Venter perhaps, Thomas Heatherwick probably - but I can't see it happening  |
There are probably far more "great" thinkers today than there ever have been. It would be nothing for me to name off 10 or 20 names of people I consider great thinkers that are alive today, and there's no reason to believe that the world has suddenly (in spite of literacy rates that are close to 100% in developed countries and better education) stopped producing great thinkers.
And you know what? A lot of great thinkers are or have been available in some form to chat with, no matter where you are. Twitter, Google Hangouts and Reddit Ask Me Anythings (AMAs) have made great thinkers available to chat with. Reddit AMAs in particular have featured a ton of famous scientists, actors, politicians and astronauts (e.g.
here is Chris Hadfield, answering questions while orbiting the Earth).
People also mention TED talks, but actually just watching TED talks won't provide a back-and-forth conversation. For that, they would need to attend a TED talk in-person; being at a TED conference in-person is a much different experience and lets famous thinkers and common folk mingle and chat for hours, so is probably closer to the "salon" idea some are thinking of.
TL;DR Version: Great thinkers are available in a salon-like setting if you're willing to look.