One question that I see pop up every now and then is what famous person would you like have a meal and a discussion with. This is an extraordinarily tough question for me to grapple with. Certainly, part of this is that I am an introvert, and so the implied social interaction would have to have some value to me.
A lot of people pick famous actors, writers, leaders, or pioneers in various fields.
Even though I could do without most of them, there are a handful of celebrities who I respect on one level or another. I can imagine myself having dinner with one of them I guess, but I have to wonder why I would care about the interaction more than to be able to say I've spent some time with the person. There are some celebrities who would probably be painful enough to be around that being able to say I had met the person still wouldn't be worth the conversation.
World leaders past and present would be even more difficult. I can find out their individual opinions and unique qualities if I want, so it wouldn't be too helpful to use my time asking them their position on such-and-such issue. I would be interested in getting a sense for some leader's individual personas, though I suspect that most successful world leaders are experts at hiding their true selves.
I can imagine wanting to speak with a Biblical author (such as Paul, Peter, or John) to clear up doctrinal confusions that I have, and to get their reaction to the issues of the day. Obviously, I would need an interpreter in this case, and there would probably be a hundred other logistical issues, but this is a fantasy question anyway.
I also suspect that most people that I struggle to carry a conversation with have as much interesting information that they could relay as a famous person would. Everyone has intriguing stories, or off-the-wall viewpoints, or quirky personalities that should make for a decent conversational companion. I am just not very adept at getting to that information. Perhaps my approach should be to treat everyone I talk to as if they are famous and use that to guide the conversation.
If you could have a conversation with someone famous is there a rationale that you would follow to decide who it would be? Who meets the criteria defined by your rationale?
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My rationale has varied at different points in my life. But honestly, at this time in my life - my rationale would be, who would keep my interest. I don't particularly enjoy listening to others just ramble on. So, who would I enjoy listening too, and who would I actually have comments/thoughts that they might enjoy a conversation with me also. I recently read a Zig Ziglar quote. I was reminded of how much wisdom he had and Biblical knowledge. I think it would be pretty cool to talk with him to gain both Biblical principal reinforcement and real life application with it. Another one that comes to mind is Luke. Because our pastor has recently been going through the book of Acts. I find it interesting the perspective that he points out Luke gives us in his writing and I think he probably would be a man of fewer words with pointed meaning. He doesn't seem to get caught up in emotionalism as much as facts and what he believes is the important take aways. I like that.
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