This last post makes me realize that we are traveling on two different trains.

My first post on this topic defined the experiment as, how we can learn from each other when strangers choose to have a completely open conversation about thoughts and fears.

From my side, I did learn important and useful insights into not jumping to conclusions, how to better read intention through text, when to ask questions of the other vs when to look at my own personal filters, the nature of filters, etc.

I have been taking quite a bit of time to read, re-read, and respond with care. With each message, I try to separate out the concepts in order to follow them better. But from your side, I feel like you are writing on the fly, typing out whatever is coming into your head at that moment. You may not be doing it like that, but from the way it is written--both stylistically and graphically--I interpret it that way.

In that same first post I further explained the experiment as:

Mike and I decided to dig deep into our psyches and try to make heads or tails of our various mechanisms when it comes to the implied and inferred emotion between the written word. He wants to explore my “avoidance” and I want to explore the “fine line between justifiable confidence and arrogance”.

Hence my question on the teacher-student relationship. In the beginning, there was shifting relationship based on the topics, but lately I feel your words as an angry professor that his student does not get what he sees as so obvious.

When I express my needs, I feel a resistance from you. Maybe this happens because our goals and methodologies are out of sync. For a while now I have not been able to follow your line of thinking, and when I express my doubts, I do not get answers that help me. Honestly, I don't know what we are doing any more, and my questions just bring back more questions from you.

I was not able to overcome all of my initial fears expressed at the beginning of our discussions. While I feel like we created a strong base upon which we could ask questions freely, I don't always feel comfortable answering the questions you pose in response to my questions. This is because I feel an underlying tone in your return questions that screams (in my head), how can you not get it?! The Socratic Method can be effective, but not using this medium for me.

I still feel like there is more to learn, but not without a clear, mutually agreed-upon hypothesis and some clarity around method, something which from your last message it feels like you would not like to do. After a month of experimentation, It would probably be best to close here.

Thanks for all the lessons learned and the chance to try something different! Keep me up to date on what happens with your book. I am super curious!!