Besides, the point isn't to wall myself up with books, but to make connections - and put them to the test.

That's how I come to be working on an internet startup, developing a tool to make it easier for people to organise face-to-face learning outside of large institutions. I want to see if this technology, with all its potential for addiction and alienation, can be used to unlock other possibilities - ways of being with each other that have often been crushed by the structures of modern life.

I'm lucky in the chances I've had and the people I've met. I try to remember that, and to keep sight of the simple stuff that makes things possible - the people you meet, the things you do together, the way you leave each other feeling.