Scholé Supplement #27

This week I was grateful to receive these kind words from Trudi, my latest podcast guest.

There is movement and it is growing.

Grokkist is certainly a lot more real than when I tentatively sketched out the idea I wanted to put into the world back in late 2021.

As of today, this newsletter goes to 300 people, the vast majority of whom I have had some sort of personal interaction with (if we haven't - feel free to have a chat!).

I'm now ready to begin taking intentional steps to expand that circle, become more discoverable, and start to show up in the places where people already are.

This visibility work, along with continuing to tend the garden of events, courses and community, is where you can expect my major focus to be the second half of this year.

🙏🏼 Thanks for being here for the journey.

And if you'd like a bit more Grokkist in your Insta feed between drinks in this newsletter, give our new account a follow - @grokkist.

-Danu

You're reading Scholé Supplement, the newsletter that celebrates curiosity, learning and life as a grokkist.

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Unlocking the power of purposeful play - Trudi Boatwright | S3E7

Trudi Boatwright is an experiential designer, facilitator, and creative who specialises in play.

We discuss how purposeful play fosters connection, innovation, and psychological safety in life and the workplace.

Episode Appetiser

I avoided using the word play for years, because nobody takes play seriously. You say creativity and people revere it and you say play and people dismiss it.

People said, 'what do you do?' And I'd say, 'oh, I'm a, um, well, uh, I've got the arts... and I'm experiential... and it's communication...' I got to a point where I was exhausted. I just didn't have the energy to bullshit. And I said to someone, 'I teach people how to play'.

And they went, 'oh yeah, I like it.' And I thought, all these years I've been trying to wrap this up as something else, but actually this is what I do.

Key Topics

• The importance of a playful mindset and its benefits in the workplace, including fostering connection, innovation, and psychological safety
• Trudi's squiggly career journey and why she has had 48 jobs, from performing on London’s West End, to working in a bikey bar, and how her diverse experiences have shaped her approach to creativity and communication
• Trudi's experience using play in high-stakes situations, such as working with incarcerated women and seriously ill children, and how play can be a tool for healing and transformation
• How it can be difficult and confusing to explain what you do when you don't fit into a predefined box, and why Trudi finds that identifying as a grokkist helps her make sense of herself.

Kids' Chemical Solutions makes learning chemistry fun, accessible, and inclusive

I am always delighted to discover and share real-world examples of people and organisations who are reimagining education in grokkist-friendly ways.

One of my many ambitions is to develop a directory of warm introductions to living examples of reimagined education for grokkists to explore.

In that spirit, please enjoy this warm introduction to the work of Dr Colleen Kelley, whom I spoke to recently on the podcast, and how she is reimagining education through her project, Kids' Chemical Solutions.

Kids' Chemical Solutions

Founded by Dr Colleen Kelley, Kids' Chemical Solutions makes learning chemistry fun, accessible, and inclusive by connecting chemical concepts to everyday life.

Chemistry is very much like learning music. Both disciplines are dependent on the interpretation of symbols and the development of fluency with these symbols.

The M.C. Detective Agency: Chemical Solutions Required is a multi-episodic series that envelops a cleverly concealed chemistry curriculum with the stories of twins, Poppi and Ray, who solve mysteries using chemistry.

These sibling sleuths have many adventures, including traveling back in time to rescue the Radium Girls, attending a modern day rock concert to save a vanishing Van Gogh, and swimming in a bottle of Chanel No. 5 to find the hiding aldehydes.

Keep Reading (5 min) ↗

#1 - Succession is a red thread tragedy

Succession is about as good as TV gets, I reckon. I've listened to a bunch of podcasts and consumed a ton of hot takes, but to me this video essay by OneTake is the single best take on what Succession is really about. It's feature-length, but if you’ve already watched the whole series, consider this a bonus ‘final episode’. If you haven’t seen the whole series, there are major spoilers here! Don’t watch unless you have no plans to ever watch Succession.

Lessons for grokkists finding their red thread – don't take your desires for granted. If you listen carefully and examine them, you might find what you 'want' is masking a neglected need. Real fulfilment that comes from putting something into the world. Can you connect what you need to what you can bring to the world?

#2 - Do you want to be known for your best work, or for your swift email responses?

Do You Want to Be Known For Your Writing, or For Your Swift Email Responses?

Melissa Febos shares practical writing advice for women who want to prioritize their art, not their email

Catapultmelissafebos

The headline alone is a showstopper. Good advice for anyone, but especially for givers and perfectionists whose own creative gifts often take a backseat to trying to live up to impossible self-imposed standards in all of our social roles, for fear of disappointing others. Bottom line - stop trying to get an A+ at anything but doing your best work.

#3 - Designing a beautiful work life at the individual and company levels

Hobbyist Academia | Larissa Weinstein | Substack

A newsletter and passion project at the intersection of digital sociology, design, business, and personal development. Click to read Hobbyist Academia, by Larissa Weinstein, a Substack publication with hundreds of readers.

Hobbyist AcademiaLarissa Weinstein

Larissa Weinstein started her newsletter as a guide to developing a self-directed practice of lifelong, continuous learning (very grokkist!) She is interested in designing a beautiful work life at the individual and company levels, and so her project has evolved into curated media recommendations at the intersection of digital sociology, design, business, and personal development. Her vibe is low-key and conversational, well-considered, aesthetic, and always interesting.

#4 - The genius AI behind The Sims

I'm a big fan of Mark Brown's channel, Game-Maker's Toolkit, which explores the world of game design in exquisite, entertaining and thoughtful detail. Here he explores what's behind the believably autonomous characters in The Sims, how Sims think, and how the AI 'yes ands' the player's choices without going against the story the player wants to tell. An intersection of emergent gameplay and human desire to engage in storytelling.

#5 - The world's 'best new skyscraper' is geology-inspired

Winner of the 2021 'best new skyscraper' award, The Valley in Amsterdam is an intriguing and appealing combination of public and private space. It 'combines offices, shops, catering, cultural facilities, and apartments in one building', while 'much of the building is open to the public: from the publicly accessible footpath that zig-zags up to the central valley from the street level.' Would love to hear from someone who is more directly familiar with it – what's it like?