It is so important. People of all ages actually have something to say that others do not know or understand. Unfortunately, we do not always recognize our own hidden superpower. Pursue contact with people that show an interest and do not be afraid of what you do not know. It’s what you do know that makes a difference.
When I was an undergraduate, I attended the first two sessions of a workshop in which three young academics presented papers criticizing the views of a Professor on contract law. Sitting next to someone who taught me the related subject of tort, I basically suggested that the proposed view was dumping all the rubbish into that topic. The speaker failed to answer the question and the chairman did something similar. My teacher whispered to me that they had both dodged the point and asked the same question 20 minutes later.
During the week, the chairman approached me near the Library and asked me my name and college details. At the second seminar, he began by misrepresenting what I had said. I was sufficiently annoyed that I never went back. He became a distinguished professor and Court of Appeal judge.
I didn’t realise that I had caught his interest by what I had said. I should have gone to all the remaining sessions and hammered home the contact. It would have taught me a great deal about academia at the very least. I could have become a player in what I found rather rarefied circles.
Since then, I have supervised two students’ LLM dissertations whose work I have cited because they said something original that nobody else has pointed out. Neither were outstanding; both made an impact on my knowledge base.
I had a bad day some weeks ago (the details are unimportant!). Instead of sleep, I finished writing an essay for a book. In looking for a last footnote, I came across the correspondence of Francis Mann, an article written in Berlin by academics with access to FA Mann’s papers. Being a bit older/wiser, I emailed the lead author of my delightful experience of this great international lawyer at the very end of his life. It began began with a fax I sent when I was 27, knowing I was coming to London the following week. Half way through the meeting Dr Mann invited me to, he asked me what I knew of an arbitration problem. I casually answered referring to a Privy Council decision he improbably didn’t know. I obtained him a copy and he wrote back charmingly inviting me to write about the case instead of him in his standard Law Quarterly Review Column. I turned that one down in exchange for a set of original Swiss court decisions on Westland Helicopters v Egypt, duly delivered with a request to copy and mail back! I had a certain amount of fun introducing my old boss Rusty Park to Francis Mann. They had both had the hairdryer treatment from Pierre Lalive in the ASA Bulletin. Dr Mann rather enjoyed receiving the entire William D/ William W Park exchange with which some Swiss lawyers of the 1980s may be familiar.
Anyway, seven hours later, an email back revealed that Dr Mann had neatly kept 30 items of correspondence with my name on it from 1988-1990 (Mann died in his sleep in 1991 in his 80s), including the fax! It made that day a better one!
So, if you have a good idea, push it (within reason) and then pursue contact with people who show interest in what you have to offer. It could make many days better!