In July 1818, a 26-year-old Michael Faraday—then a chemical assistant at the Royal Institution—organized a self-help writing group with four other London artisans. This circle met for roughly 18 months with the primary goal of teaching themselves to "write like gentlemen" and mastering the art of polite discourse.

: Members met regularly to read their original essays and poems aloud and provide critical feedback on each other's style and reasoning.

While the group rarely discussed hard science, their work reflected the "inertia of the mind"—a term Faraday used to describe the mental resistance to progress, apathy, and distraction. The exercises focused on: