A Salon for ‘Nones’

In the Hayes Valley neighborhood in the heart of San Francisco, a group of young tech workers, artists, and thinkers are taking part in a revival of the intellectual salon, the 18th- and 19th-century tradition where the beau monde mixed with the thought leaders of their day. Nonprofits, collectives, and a small cottage industry of salon organizers have sprung up to bring them back. This iteration, a metaphysical speakeasy christened “The Commons” by founders Patricia Mou and Adi Melamed, invites members to partake in structured discussions, meditation sessions, potlucks, and concerts. It is, Mou wrote in a 2023 Substack entry, “a fourth place.” Unlike what social scientists call a “third place”—a coffee shop or a favorite bar or house of worship, where people come into regular, casual contact with each other outside work or home, gaining a sense of belonging to something greater than themselves—Mou contends that fourth places offer something richer. Conceived as an intentional meeting space, The Commons is designed to facilitate deep communal bonds and self-discovery, rather than simple social encounters. By day, members work to usher in scientific and technological progress. Even as AI-generated art and writing causes debate over the nature of the humanities, members of The Commons gather in their free time to promote—and define—human flourishing.