Show Notes
Throughout history, there are moments in time where we witness remarkable accomplishments from a group of individuals.
A little known example: The Eagle and Child pub in Oxford, England.
“Patrons of The Eagle and Child wrote three of the five best-selling fantasy series of
all-time within an eighteen year period -
The Lord of the Rings,
The Hobbit, and
The Chronicles of Narnia. It is here, on Tuesday mornings, that C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the other members of
The Inklings of Oxford met to read, discuss, and critique each other's work.
Tolkien read drafts of
The Lord of the Rings to the group, and they provided both criticism and encouragement in turn. The Inklings were so impactful on Tolkien’s writing that he dedicated the first edition of
The Lord of the Rings to them,
writing, “What I owe to them all is incalculable,” and singled out Lewis in particular by saying, “only by his support and friendship did I ever struggle to the end.”
The Eagle and Child played host to a Scenius, the major driving force behind much of the world’s progress.”
If you don’t want to read the full 10,000-word essay, Packy and I did a podcast to explore this idea.
We talk about three important topics:
- What are the ingredients of a Scenius?
- Why do Michael Jordan’s Bulls qualify as a Scenius?
- How do we create a Scenius? What does it look like in the age of the internet?
Highly recommend giving this a listen!