The Faces of Scenius — Joseph Wells

A scenius is a beautiful bubble that only forms under special conditions: friendly competition and appreciation, rapid exchange of new ideas, mutual sharing of success, and most importantly, a buffer against the outside world that creates space for transgression and general weirdness.

The great music scenes of our time had this ecology of talent. Motown, Seattle, Los Angeles, the list goes on. Creative competitiveness, imitation, idea expansion and support are key drivers in the advancement of a music scene. In Show your Work, Austin Kleon writes

“Scenius doesn’t take away from the achievements of those great individuals; i

To understand how historical ingredients apply to today’s communities and micro-scenia, I sought out potential emergent scenia from the present day.  

I found them in theInterIntellectandWrite of Passage. Both Anna Gát’s InterIntellect and David Perell’s Write of Passage are transitioning from communities to micro-scenia, and each has the

Even with a catastrophic catalyzing event, just the right amount of internal and external competition, and a place in which to collaborate, scenius will not take root without a diverse group of people who are willing to offer differing thoughts and experiences. It’s at their intersection that new ideas form. Scenius is a remix, a riff off of what h

an “ecology of talent.”