Where are the Sparks?

An interesting quote from Walter Isaacson's The Innovators: "There was value to getting together in person rather than just reading each other’s papers: the intense interactions allowed ideas to be kicked into higher orbits and, like electrons, occasionally break loose to spark chain reactions.” Note the value of "getting together in person."

We get together in person for business presentations but are typically focused on maintaining control. We often say we "want this presentation to be informal", but we still want it to be cool, highly controlled, and formalized; like a classic verse play by Racine. We do not want it to be hot and fluid like a modern kitchen drama. If we saw most business presentations on stage, we would want to know, “When is something going to happen? Where are the sparks and chain reactions?"