Good form in idea exchange

Teaching is a kind of gift-giving.

As with all gift-giving, teaching is not a simple transfer of property from one party to another.

Nobody gives a gift to another detached individual: authentic gifts are given to a relationship.

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There is an art to giving and receiving gifts — a sense of good form — and much of this art is bound up with knowing how to fully belong to a relationship as one gives a gift, and how to accept a gift on behalf of a relationship.

To fail at the former is to become a kind of loan shark — or, even worse, a philanthropist. To fail at the latter is to become a thief of gifts.

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People who generate original ideas understand why the dedications and footnotes of books are full of expressions of gratitude and indebtedness. These are not grudging acknowledgments. They are celebrations of friendships, communities and traditions — and of the capacity to participate in the highest kind of exchange.

 

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