Another item, and admittedly this is a pet peeve, taking notes provides an opportunity for reflection. I do not understand why most people miss out on this opportunity. Using a mind-map to record notes is even better. This keeps the listener engaged, always weighing what’s worth recording and how things relate to one another. As my long-time readers know, I used to thoroughly document what I discovered at conferences on my websites. I wanted to share the knowledge, sure, but I was the primary beneficiary, for this helped me reflect and set what I’d learned in my noggin.

I suppose your point helps explain the value of TED talks, as those are often about topics people are engaged in at some level, or at least suppose they want to have a trendy opinion about. So the meaningful activity they support is, to some extent, the shaping of one’s identity trajectory. What do you think?