An uncommon island called Ikaria

Late last month, The New York Times Magazine published a long piece by Dan Buettner with the intriguing title, The Island Where People Forget to Die. Buettner tells the story of Ikaria, a tiny Greek island that is home to 10,000 people. The island has become famous for the unusual health and longevity of its residents. A recent study discovered that its reputation is deserved; people on Ikaria are "reaching the age of 90 at two and a half times the rate Americans do." They're also happier and more active, both mentally and physically.

The article explores the possible reasons why and each instinctively rings true. First, a diet consisting of fresh food from the garden, fish, olive oil, beans, coffee, and wine. Second, endless, slow days filled with friends and gossip, walking and dancing, church and neighbors, naps and sex. The insights into a well-lived life are fascinating.

As the piece draws to a close, it takes a surprising turn. Buettner points out that people in a town just eight miles away live similarly, "but people on Samos tend to live no longer than average Greeks." Why is that?

The two paragraphs that followed had a profound impact on me. They explain so much about the enormous power of neighborhoods and communities. They also speak to the very heart of Uncommon in Common.



First, Buettner paints a picture of what I hope Uncommon will be, and in small ways, already is; a quiet place on the web dedicated to timeless things, the best of ourselves and our world. Each of us sharing ownership of the neighborhood and helping to shape its future.

Second, Buettner describes why Uncommon has the potential to be very different from so much of today's web. What if the site itself wasn't a neutral platform, but actively encouraged and celebrated the best in all of us? Many of us want to change how we use and experience technology, but we're standing alone against a tidal wave of harmful incentives. We're trying to live healthy lives surrounded by aisles of junk. Everywhere we turn, the excessive and obsessive is celebrated and encouraged. The problem is, it’s difficult to change individual behaviors when community behaviors stay the same.

What if instead, Uncommon was on our side? What if there was a place online that actually pushed us away at times, encouraged our offline lives, and was built from the start to be a trampoline, not a rabbit hole?

My wish is that one day there will be 10,000 of us on this island, and we'll all live to be 100.