Gary Borjesson

Encouraging Good Actors: Using AI to Scale Consumer Power for the Common Good - 3 Quarks Daily by Gary Borjesson

I wrote a piece for 3 Quarks Daily about an idea whose time has come. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could actually gather together and meaningfully move the needle on big money's influence on our politics? Would love to hear what others think.
3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily...

Excellent and timely piece. Just how toxic the smoke is from all those burning buildings is underreported.

Dwelling in the Doing: a new year's resolve - 3 Quarks Daily by Gary Borjesson

Looking for some encouragement in the new year, that includes a fun dog story? My short essay in praise of playing the long game has just been published over at 3 Quarks Daily. (No paywall.) Happy new year!
3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily...

Feeling Disappointed: a psychoanalytic perspective Disappointment as a grown-up feeling, and a non-defensive way of responding to the lamentable fact that we don't always get what we want

This week's short Monday Morning Note is about the advantages of cultivating the capacity for disappointment. (Might as well, it's coming anyway!)
garyborjesson.substack.com/p/feeling-di...

Exactly. Thanks for reading! Looking forward to following you.

Of True and False Selves: Donald Winnicott's View - 3 Quarks Daily by Gary Borjesson

My essay on the great pediatrician and psychoanalyst Winnicott's view of how our true and false selves develop in childhood has just been published over at 3 Quarks Daily. For parents, therapists, and others interested in how we become who we are!
3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily...

I post a short weekly note on Substack called How We Help. If you like this one, you can subscribe for free at garyborjesson.substack.com.

Starting today, I plan to be more active on Bluesky. Feeling hopeful to see so many new users joining this platform. I'd been a little disappointed. Speaking of which, I've just published a short juicy reflection on the under-rated feeling of disappointment. I hope it doesn't disappoint.

I know her...she might lay a little guilt trip, but she'll also understand (and you'll be taking her with you!)

garyborjesson.substack.com/p/from-the-b...
This week's note uses a story from a therapy session to explore the value of increasing our bodily awareness--something hard to do when we're overly busy, sedentary, and distracted by such alluringly immersive technology!

garyborjesson.substack.com/p/flight-dis...
It's an amazing fact that all animals--even insects--use distancing from others as a way of feeling safe. This short note explains the phenomenon and how it applies to human critters!

Ever wondered what exactly it means for therapy to be "psychodynamic"? In this week's note I offer a short primer--with a dash of Plato for deeper context.
garyborjesson.substack.com/p/what-is-ps...

This week's very short note offers a cool strategy for making the power and glory of the seasons a force in our personal lives and endeavors. Here's to fresh starts. Happy spring!
garyborjesson.substack.com/p/spring-bre...

This week's short piece is about the value of making the unconscious conscious. How we do it; what makes it easier and harder to accomplish. It includes a personal story illustrating the process.
garyborjesson.substack.com/p/on-making-...

With Socrates' help, this week's note asks the thorny question of whether lying is ever therapeutic.
garyborjesson.substack.com/p/are-lies-e...

I’ve just posted this week’s piece, which is a dog story about how our dog held fast to truth when we would have preferred he lie a little! Enjoy!
open.substack.com/pub/garyborj...

Looking forward to listening! Now that you're at Johns Hopkins, you're at a leading institution for psychedelic research.

Nice. I know what you mean about maybe needing more mad hubris. Or maybe we could say, philosophers need a little of the Dionysian spirit that encourages free (not publish-or-perish) exploration.

On this point, Thoreau offers a good corrective to academic tendencies: "To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity and trust."

Couldn't agree more. Having spent years teaching philosophy before turning to other work, I came to believe that the best place for a true philosopher like Socrates to hide from his persecutors would be in a philosophy department. No one would think to look there!

Dogs don't do virtual relationships, obviously. In my short weekly note I look at how this reveals some of what we're missing when we do. Enjoy!
open.substack.com/pub/garyborj...

Here's a fresh way of thinking about what's lost when we connect by video, phone, or text instead of in-person: our actual senses. Meet by Zoom and you lop off touch, taste, smell. By phone, lop off sight. With text, we've stopped making sense altogether!
garyborjesson.substack.com/p/losing-our...

In this short piece I explore how the ways we connect can limit the use of our senses—and our mind—to build better alliances. This is a big deal for those of us who work closely and collaboratively with others. 
garyborjesson.substack.com/p/losing-our...

My short Monday morning note on How We Help is posted. This week I look at the meaning of being together, and how only recently in our history has being-together admitted of degrees! With huge consequences for our relationships. garyborjesson.substack.com/p/the-thickn...

A document titled “Tips for moving from Xitter to Bluesky,” with 8 tips for making the most of Bluesky if you are arriving here from Twitter

Reupping for any newskies that may come along, welcome! (Not my creation, but some good tips here)

I’ve just posted my weekly Monday morning note on the art, science and philosophy of alliances. This one's for all of us who’ve doubted we could find a therapist smart enough to help us. The reality turns out to be different from the appearances!

garyborjesson.substack.com/p/can-i-find...

Gotcha. Thanks for unpacking what you have in mind. It's such an interesting, complex topic. And it's definitely true that unless we make an effort (over months and years) we're unlikely to change our personality much from its default. Which is fine, as long as we like who we are!

What book is that? The research suggests it is not true that 90% of personality is determined by genetics. Instead, personality is shaped by the interplay of early childhood experience, family, environment, and, yes, genes and epigenetics. There's relief here also: We can change our personalties!

Winnicott's antidote to anxiety about whether a care-giver (not just to kids) is good enough.
“I would rather be a child of a mother who has all the inner conflicts of a human being than be mothered by someone for whom all is easy and smooth, who knows all the answers, and is a stranger to doubt.”

Yes, this is just the argument to persuade your recalcitrant colleagues. Appeal to the ultimate authority!