Sceniuses balance the free flow of ideas with strict cultural norms. Members are competitive enough to motivate each other but cooperative enough to find joy in their success. They meet often enough to share ideas but work independently enough to develop their own voice. Though they are willing to adapt to changing circumstances, they root themselv

For the first time in human history, scenius is moving beyond physical geography. It’s happening on the Internet now. And it’s alive in obscure Discord forums, private group chats, and online schools. 

Zooming out though, The Hype House is part of a millennia-old tradition of collaboration among those at the avant-garde of new forms of media, technology, and thought. Outsiders like me have always dismissed the novel as silly, faddish, or worse. When those inside the cutting-edge scenes band together to support, teach, and create with each other,

These burgeoning efforts offer hope that scenius can indeed be created online, but must also be strengthened and punctuated by real-world interaction; that competition will always drive humans to push themselves further, but that competition need not be zero-sum; that the scale of the internet can mean bolder, more ambitious missions.  

Packy identified eight ingredients that, when combined, have a high chance of producing a scenius. A few of the best are place based ritual, non-zero-sum competition, and network effects of success.

The purpose of the II community is the II community. It’s an infinite game. Your goal is that people want to keep wanting to play with you.... I think if you do good work, it’s natural that you will become influential. Like good work is really rare. We want to have a better public discourse and a higher level of intellectual engagement. But it’s n

“Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, intentionally used competition among his artists to bring out the best in them,” wrote Packy inhis essay, Conjuring Scenius. “He [Gordy] held weekly meetings in which the team voted to release certain artists’ songs while holding others’ back until they got it up to their friendly competitor’s level.”

In Eno’s words: “If genius is the creative intelligence of an individual, Scenius is the creative intelligence of a group.”

Some of the most famous scenia – Motown, Benjamin Franklin’s Junto, and the Inklings – all had a place-based ritual. They met in the same location, usually at the same time, and at a regular cadence. Having a meeting place – often a bar – provides an informal setting where societal barriers break down and people collaborate regardless of profession