With his WWW conference, Wurman intends to supply a challenging premise or question for each pair of speakers to address – but they won’t know what it is in advance. And where they choose go with that topic, or even how long they talk, also will be undetermined. Wurman is hoping that the result will be, in his words, “intellectual jazz.” One author calls “a monstrosity that turns thinkers into circus performers.” The format may or may not work – most likely it will depend on the delicate chemistry between the pairing – but in some ways, Wurman’s “conversation-over-presentation” approach seems in keeping with a current trend toward applying collaborative inquiry and discussion to today’s big issues and challenges. Of late, various types of innovation salons and conversational events have been popping up: Recently, Seth Goldenberg (a Bruce Mau Design alumni) launched the “IDEAS Salon,” initially in Rhode Island in April with a follow-up Silicon Valley event this fall. Instead of giving presentations, the high-level guests joined together to grapple with weighty questions; Goldenberg wanted to get away from what he dubs “the sage on stage” model used at TED and other conferences, in favor of a more conversational format. Similarly, the design firm Method has been hosting a series of salons in New York to explore big ideas in a more open and freewheeling manner. (via The Creator Of TED Aims To Reinvent Conferences Once Again | Co. Design)
Emphasis added.