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> Think the Paris coffee shops where the French revolution brewed, or British pubs where engineers designed the first public railway The other part of this is

> Think the Paris coffee shops where the French revolution brewed, or British pubs where engineers designed the first public railway The other part of this is that a third places mixes people of different social strata, and you end up talking to them, getting a cross pollination of ideas. A self selecting hobby group is not necessarily this. A hackerspace may be more like this, or a community garden, but a competitive chess club? Probably no. A gym? Cost, physical exertion immediately excludes a lot of society from participating.

eptcyka 3y ago
Where is a gym more expensive than a piss-up at a local pub?
- fsckboy 3y ago
  taking classes at Equinox https://www.equinox.com/ https://www.equinox.com/ "it's not fitness, it's life"
  - eptcyka 3y ago
    Pretty sure that a piss-up in a place that's near an Equinox in London will probably not be cheap either.
- jrumbut 3y ago
  I just run outside these days but I thought that starting conversations at gyms was frowned upon? Even if it wasn't, most people are wearing headphones. Sustained conversation would be difficult.
  - TeMPOraL 3y ago
    Yup. Gyms are kind of inverse of pubs, in this way and many more. For example, the alcohol, as brought into spotlight by 'Animats. It's rather well-known (if a little tough to admit for many people) that alcohol is the "social lubricant". The way it lowers inhibitions and "screens off" pent-up stress, helps people make connections, build and nurture friendships. It's not the only way to do this, but it's a way that works, and scales well among and across social strata - a fact that's been recognized since time immemorial, and the millennia of culture built around drinking only reinforce its bonding effects.
  - throwaway22032 3y ago
    It kind of depends. Serious iron gyms are usually a lot more chatty than commercial / for everyone gyms. None of them are like the pub though, the pub has no activity other than socialising, it's the entire point.

eptcyka 3y ago

Where is a gym more expensive than a piss-up at a local pub?

fsckboy 3y ago
taking classes at Equinox https://www.equinox.com/ https://www.equinox.com/ "it's not fitness, it's life"
- eptcyka 3y ago
  Pretty sure that a piss-up in a place that's near an Equinox in London will probably not be cheap either.
jrumbut 3y ago
I just run outside these days but I thought that starting conversations at gyms was frowned upon? Even if it wasn't, most people are wearing headphones. Sustained conversation would be difficult.
- TeMPOraL 3y ago
  Yup. Gyms are kind of inverse of pubs, in this way and many more. For example, the alcohol, as brought into spotlight by 'Animats. It's rather well-known (if a little tough to admit for many people) that alcohol is the "social lubricant". The way it lowers inhibitions and "screens off" pent-up stress, helps people make connections, build and nurture friendships. It's not the only way to do this, but it's a way that works, and scales well among and across social strata - a fact that's been recognized since time immemorial, and the millennia of culture built around drinking only reinforce its bonding effects.
- throwaway22032 3y ago
  It kind of depends. Serious iron gyms are usually a lot more chatty than commercial / for everyone gyms. None of them are like the pub though, the pub has no activity other than socialising, it's the entire point.