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I like Anne's comments on the the idea of "personal experience". I think this, and the question of identities (e.g., "Oakland" vs. "academic", etc.), is an interesting one that needs to be explored. This is an old philosophical puzzle, too: is the personality a peach or an onion? That is, is there a "core", or just layers with nothing once those layers are peeled away.

Also, not to steal Bharath's idea, but hadn't I suggested a bit of "jumping on the table" before, insofar as doing something less in discussion and more in action / field trip? I suggested to Paul after the last meeting a group Chinese dinner, for example.

I think the group is stumbling into some good stuff here: serious questions about identity, expectations, etc. I'd also like to re-examine Bharath's quasi-Venn diagram next time. Like Anne (?), perhaps, I got some issues with the public/private overlap. As Paul knows, I always keep those VERY separate, for a variety of reasons.