Harry Nyquist, Illuminators, and Why Our Investments Matter
Last year I listened to the audio version of David Brooks’ How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. I was barely a chapter in when I realized that listening to that book was a lot like reading a cookbook: you can get an idea of the mechanics, but at some point you want to savor the meal.
So I’m back to square one and currently reading the Kindle version, and this passage reminded me of why – at least for this particular book – reading is better than listening. The savoring is real:
In every crowd there are Diminishers and there are Illuminators. Diminishers make people feel small and unseen. They see other people as things to be used, not as persons to be befriended. They stereotype and ignore. They are so involved with themselves that other people are just not on their radar screen. Illuminators, on the other hand, have a persistent curiosity about other people. They have been trained or have trained themselves in the craft of understanding others. They know what to look for and how to ask the right questions at the right time. They shine the brightness of their care on people and make them feel bigger, deeper, respected, lit up.
…consider a story from Bell Labs. Many years ago, executives there realized that some of their researchers were far more productive, and amassed many more patents, than the others. Why was this? they wondered. They wanted to know what made these researchers so special. They explored every possible explanation—educational background, position in the company—but came up empty. Then they noticed a quirk. The most productive researchers were in the habit of having breakfast or lunch with an electrical engineer named Harry Nyquist. Aside from making important contributions to communications theory, Nyquist, the scientists said, really listened to their challenges, got inside their heads, asked good questions, and brought out the best in them. In other words, Nyquist was an Illuminator.
Reading this brings introspection at best, conviction at worst: am I a Diminisher or an Illuminator? Do I make others “feel bigger, deeper, respected, lit up”? Am I so involved with myself that I can’t be bothered with the problems of others?
In short: am I a Harry Nyquist?
As the old preacher says, If I can’t say amen, I oughta say ouch.
Besides being old, I’m “old school” as well – while I occasionally listen to certain types of audio books, and just as rarely read Kindle versions, I’m a huge proponent of holding the genuine article while reading it. And in the case of Brooks’ “How to Know a Person,” my copy is underlined, Post-It flagged, and otherwise well-thumbed through from my first reading a year ago, and subsequent returns to poignant passages. And by the way, my friend, you are definitely an Illuminator!
As you know, I’m a little surprised at how much I’ve embraced Kindle. And just as there are books I simply can’t listen to and expect to absorb info, there are books I want to have the physical copy for aesthetics and the tactical nature of them.
And YOU are one of my own personal Illuminators…thank you for playing that role!