Indirect pursuits | Infinite Ascent

a list of vaguely related things

As a kid, I thought that The North Wind and the Sun had the wrong moral. It’s not about persuasion winning over force; it’s about not joining competitions you know you’ll lose. I mean, come on. There’s no way the North Wind could’ve possibly thought they could make someone remove their cloak, especially against the Sun! These days I give it a more charitable read—it’s about gentleness and indirection. In how to sail against the wind I write about how you can’t sail directly against the wind. Instead, you tack, zigzagging in the direction you want to go, never directly heading against the wind.

saved by

• Lydia Nottingham
• Jacob G-W
• Zoe Schurman
• Catherine Xu

related reading

• i wish we’d grown up on the same advice - by vincent huangmindslice.substack.com
• Please don't throw your mind away — LessWronglesswrong.com
• Before the game beginssparcjcs.substack.com
• Dear Self; we need to talk about ambition — LessWronglesswrong.com
• ambition as a fingerprintmindmine.substack.com
• Productivity advice | Zhengdongzhengdongwang.com
• Moving towards the goalmindingourway.com
• 🌻 tryhardjasmi.news
• 🌻 tryhardjasmi.news
• Explore More: A Bag of Tricks to Keep Your Life on the Rails — LessWronglesswrong.com
• i wish we’d grown up on the same advice | MIT Admissionsmitadmissions.org
• Shut up and do the impossible! — LessWronglesswrong.com