Circling a coffee table sat a writer, a social worker, two designers, and an accountant. One sat in a love seat, another a stool, a couch, a dining chair, a bench. Different occupants with differing occupations in different chairs. It was a fitting first official meeting.

They had met in preparation of this meeting the past seven years or so of course, some longer, even if they didn't know it. College. New Zealand. Philadelphia suburb. A pub. A restaurant. The point wasn't necessarily where, though locale played a large part in the development of their relationships, but more on the concept of what happened when they met.

The ‘what’ is displacement.

Learning is the process of constant displacement. It is the constant nudge that forces realignment, a rebalancing act that stretches and pulls the sinews of the mind and of your choices. It is this refinement which suitably adapts you to new locations, tasks and people. In his book Moonwalking with Einstein, Joshua Foer speaks of two concepts that allude to this:

1. As we age time appears to pass more quickly. Since our level of experience is more controlled than when we were younger, less variables differentiate the repeated processes of our daily lives. This leaves little memorable mark on our timeline as we find the route of our lives routine. This is the first concept.
2. We plateau. As we learn things we get better at it until we hit level of autonomy. We no longer focus cognitively to do these tasks. It is at this stage that we, having done enough to get by, no longer push ourselves and therefore meet little-to-no growth. Joshua calls this point the OK Plateau.

How do you combat both of these seemingly inevitable outcomes, these byproducts of progress? Simple. Through displacement. By thrusting ourselves into new situations, uneasy tasks, and engaging conversation we imprint marks upon our memories. We simultaneously cultivate a sense of wonder and exploration as we elbow our way out of autonomy. We introduce new stimuli to modify our responses.


Joshua points out to four tactics experts use in their respective fields to fight the OK Plateau:

• Experts tend to operate outside their comfort zone and study themselves failing.
• Experts will try to walk in the shoes of someone who's more competent than them.
• Experts crave and thrive on immediate and constant feedback.
• Experts treat what they do like a science. They collect data, they analyze data, they create theories, and they test them.

And it is exactly in this scenario that the writer, the social worker, the designers, and the accountant meet. To say that they only ever met for intellectual benefit would probably be inaccurate. But to say that a byproduct of their friendship resulted in the eventual official gathering would more likely suffice. Friendship may have brought them together, but common life questions and debate fostered something more meaningful.

What brings disparate paths and interests to meet at the common point of ingenuity?  A drive for creating remarkable memories and a refinement of excellence When thrust into a situation where all seems too steady, displacement may be the place to start.