philosophical discourse

while enjoying an evening out on the beantown, i had the pleasure of being privy to an ivey league dialogue regarding personal belief, intellectual interest and life value or worth. the passion with which these theological studies scholars spoke was refreshing and inspiring. yet while the intent was to "lay the cards out on the table", there were still reservations which kept the conversation from developing to its potential (also, a time constraint affected this as well). i had heard warnings of how competitive graduate school can be, but i was truly shocked to learn and experience first hand that it is indeed cut-throat, most especially at an ivey league school. i think that it is interesting that these scholars want to challenge each other intellectually and philosophically to their fullest capacity so that their own learning may mature as quickly as possible. but in order for full challenge-ability, they must be willing to be vulnerable. granted, strategy is required for participating when one is potentially vulnerable, however we stand to gain the most when we have the most to lose.