The Damaged Intellectuals' Therapeutic Association (DITA) is the brainchild of Dr. Michael Merrill, who realized during COVID that he missed having group discussions on intellectual topics. Of course, few of us reach the level of a true intellectual, which is why the adjective "Damaged" is added on. The purpose is companionship, which, in the setting of the social isolation of COVID, seemed to be therapeutic.  

DITA meets every few weeks. The core meetings are by invitation only, but occasionally we have meetings open to the public. Topics in the past have included: 

• Is civility decreasing in America? 

• Are ghosts real?

• What will be the impact of AI on modern life? 

• What does it mean to live a good life? Is it possible to waste your life?  

• What is love? (A discussion of the ancient Greeks' various words for it)

• What is it like running a startup? 

The format is free-form discussion. In general, we ask that people be polite, and that they treat the contents of discussion as confidential - we have no way of enforcing that, but the principle seems to lead to more open discussion.

Criteria for attending: 

1. Self-identify as a "damaged intellectual," defined in any way you want. OR, 

2. Have suspicions that one might be a "damaged intellectual," OR, 

3. Be willing to fake it. 

We ask that you acknowledge several requests, for the good of the meeting: 

Please respect confidentiality. We hope you find some wisdom here that you can use, but don’t tell stories about what individuals say. 

Please risk something. Good conversation has an emotional valence. 

Please respect others, especially when the topic is controversial. 

When conflict arises, repeat back what the other person is saying to ensure understanding. Explain your position using the pronoun “I”.