Step 1 is make friends with intelligent people who don't think the same way you do. If you are really looking for interesting and challenging conversation this

Step 1 is make friends with intelligent people who don't think the same way you do. If you are really looking for interesting and challenging conversation this is a prerequisite. A stranger doesn't know you and when you inevitably hit a point where they begin to question your motives or your seriousness or how informed you are, they will not give you the benefit of the doubt repeatedly. Eventually a stranger will write you off. But if you have an established friendship with someone, and have a baseline of trust and respect, then you can have those challenging discussions. But make sure you are really open to being wrong. Most people are not. Interesting discussion between people who disagree about important issues never really existed online. As someone who has been online since the 80s, you can take my word. The internet is mostly good at matching up people who agree due to the effect I mentioned above.