Less Foolish

6 days ago | lessfoolish.substack.com | Peter Limberg

I have a mysterious, esoteric inquiry practice that I can’t quite find the right name for (basically, I just say “I do coaching” when speaking with normal people). My specialty is untying what I call “existential knots” (x-knots). I originally defined an x-knot as:An existential knot is an issue that feels deeply personal, most saliently experienced as a felt sense, and accompanied by great difficulty in coherently describing what the issue actually is.

1 week ago | lessfoolish.substack.com | Peter Limberg

One of my friends likes to call me “jazzy” because of my eclectic intellectual interests. I like the description. This Substack is pretty jazzy—sexbots, sociopaths, scenemaking, entities, goofies, etc. I see Less Foolish as a mix of practical philosophy and cultural sensemaking: the former helps me navigate life wisely (or at least less foolishly), and the latter helps me understand what’s happening in the wider world, supporting that same navigation.

2 weeks ago | lessfoolish.substack.com | Peter Limberg

Hey all,A quick note before today’s entry: if you missed the last one, I shared a bit about The Stoa’s history, announced its return as a semi-public space (after a year of being private), and mentioned that I’ll be remotely presenting at Harvard University this Saturday—bringing The Stoa with me. The Inverse Course: Teaching Through Unknowing. May 3rd @ 11 AM Eastern. RSVP here.

3 weeks ago | lessfoolish.substack.com | Peter Limberg

The Stoa is coming to Harvard. I’ll be remotely presenting during the “unconference” portion of the upcoming Human Transformation in a Time of Metacrisis, taking place May 2–3. Friends of The Stoa will be there, including Zak Stein, , and . My talk is titled The Inverse Course: Learning Through Unknowningness. I’ll explore the concept of the inverse course, which I’ve been experimenting with, as well as the future of The Stoa. The session starts at 11 AM Eastern.

3 weeks ago | lessfoolish.substack.com | Peter Limberg

On their press junket, Wicked actresses Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande appeared confused and performatively moved when their interviewer told them that people were “holding space” for the lyrics of the song “Defying Gravity.”It was a lovingly ridiculous celebrity moment—neither of them seemed to know what “holding space” meant.