Minnesota's future: Does the cold weather make this state isolating?

Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes a mix of national and local commentaries online and in print each day. (To contribute, click here.) Although this article was not submitted as a response to Star Tribune Opinion's June 4 call for submissions on the question "Where does Minnesota go from here?" we are including it with our collection of responses because it relates to one of the themes that emerged: community-building.

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In fall 2022, I arrived at the University of Minnesota to pursue my Ph.D. at the College of Education and Human Development. I chose the school because I was awarded a scholarship and a prestigious fellowship. I had huge trepidation, since I never lived in truly cold weather. Coming to Minnesota was akin to coming of age.

After living in Minnesota for a year, I reflected on my experience. When asked, I often say that "Minnesota is cold, and some Minnesotans are colder." Honestly, I find it extremely hard to connect with Minnesotans, for reasons that remain obscure other than to say that the weather is shaping people's personalities.

The thesis that the weather shapes people's disposition has been submitted by the first sociologist in the history of humankind — the 14th-century Eastern and Islamic philosopher Ibn Khaldun, who argued that the weather wires people's emotions differently. After living in multiple states with significantly different weather conditions, I strongly agree with the thesis. Interestingly enough, I and Ibn Khaldun hailed from the same place in Yemen. He went to Tunisia, where he blossomed as a great scholar.

When college students decide which college to attend, they factor many criteria, including the weather. At first I neglected the weather, but now it is at the top of my list. The weather basically determines what we could (or could not) do. The city in which the college is located plays a huge role in shaping the experience of students.

Since my year in Minnesota has been deprived from rich social experiences, I've thrived intellectually in solitude. I've had a routine of going to the University of Minnesota library in the morning and leaving in the evening, reading, thinking, writing and publishing. In other words, I've found refuge in the pages of books, enriching my mind with nourishment of which I was deprived from my basically nonexistent social circle.

As I started publishing, I made a name for myself in learned circles. I started getting emails from professors and readers, most of whom have retired. After my first publication by Star Tribune Opinion earlier this year, among those I heard from was Walt McClure, chairman of Center of Policy Design.

We started corresponding via email, then transitioned through texts, then switched to Skype video calls, then ultimately met in person. I am 27 and McClure is 85, so we have almost a 60-year difference. Since I failed to connect with my fellow classmates at the University of Minnesota, I compensated by spending time with this treasured mentor and dear friend, from whom I learned in-depth strategies to improve large social systems, as developed on the website of his organization, the Center for Policy Design.These are valuable ideas I can use.

We spent uncounted hours in his house and in my apartment, eating, speaking, smoking and discussing ideas. What I learned from McClure is better than what I learned from my teachers at the University of Minnesota combined, simply because instead of classes of standard coursework with many students, I had a one-on-one apprenticeship with Walt and his brilliant ideas. He personally invested in my learning and growth, and I capitalized on that opportunity.

When two people meet, they create a space I like to call the "third space" that cannot be experienced in isolation. We are not attracted to people per se, but to the "third space" that we create with them. Walt and I created such a space characterized by ideas of high caliber, of learning and growth. I love that "third space" because I can get my questions answered and I can recognize good ideas and build on them.

I argue that the cold weather creates an environment in which it is challenging to create good "third spaces," because cold weather puts people in a grumpy mood. Any good "third space" needs two people who are putting their best foot forward.

If I could relocate the University of Minnesota to a warm location such as Florida, then attending the school would have been a perfect decision. But right now, the cold weather of Minnesota makes the experiences of tropical people like me somewhat challenging. Although I've adapted to the cold weather, I've been unable to form genuine social connections with my colleagues — it has not been easy to find the "third spaces" that are necessary for a healthy, happy and productive life.

Abdulrahman Bindamnan is pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota. He is a contributing author at Psychology Today.