How many trees can you see?

I went to the "Thinking in Public" presentation, given at Seabury last night by Jim McGee. AKMA gives a much better summary than I could manage; check out his play-by-play. I will say that I was interested in Jim's outlook on thinking, and developing/encouraging the ability to think. He's right, I believe, when he says we have a history of discouraging creative thought. However, our discussion last night focused on the visionary, the brilliant idea that needs to be given space to bloom. The other side of the coin is the thinking through of the details needed to bring the brilliant idea to life, and allow it to grow up. This kind of thinking is not nearly as glamorous, but just as critical. Very, very few people have the gift of seeing both the forest and the trees. Another argument for the utter vitality of community.