Ask HN: Cities and Ambition Practicum

I liked Cities and Ambition. I like ideas too, maybe more than anything else. That might explain why I'm sitting in Cambridge now, just three weeks after reading the essay. So far it's been a blast. Smart people reading good books everywhere, great eavesdropping, and joining conversations is easy. Indeed Cambridge does seem to be about ideas. That's refreshing.

It didn't take long to be reminded that there are a lot of people here who are brainy, but unambitious. People who aren't after ideas that can change the world but after ideas that can get them a job in academia. I try to clarify, "You want to teach because that's how you can make the biggest impact? "No," comes the casual reply. "Academia just suits me," or "It's what I'm used to." This is why a lot of people are rightly skeptical about the place and why some didn't like the essay - a lot of ideas (and their devotees) seem impotent.

But there are too many good signs that keep me hopeful and that ward off a sense of futility about the place. I've found great spots like Toscanini's in Central where laptops aren't allowed on weekend mornings to preserve "an atmosphere of Luddite gentility and charm." I talked Tolstoy with the barmaid at Shay's and Augustine with the guys at the next table. On the way out of Cafe Luna I stopped at the bulletin board to check out local events and for the next hour ended up reading a pamphlet on educational "revolution" called, The Bachelors Degree is Obsolete.

Overall, I'm still convinced that Cambridge must be a fertile place to find people who care about powerful ideas. In particular, I'm looking for people who care about powerful ideas that:

1. are philosophical, can have big social implications, and are best embodied in an ideology or movement.

2. can have big social implications and are best embodied in companies.

I'm hoping the local HN community can help steer me away from the ivory towers toward what I'm looking for. So if anyone out there knows of any groups, cliques, gatherings, or individuals in Cambridge who might fit the bill, please let me know either on this thread or in email.

Thanks,