From the blog

Things worth reading slowly.

Writing on what it means to think well, be genuinely heard, and find your own clarity. Pick a theme below, or scroll.

Theme 1

Clarity & being heard

Articulation, space to think, and finding the words you didn't know you had.

Two people walking together through a city, a conversation in motion
On being heard · 4 min

What one good conversation can do.

You say something. Halfway through, you hear yourself say something you didn't know you thought. That quiet, surprising moment is what a good conversation does.

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A woman in a quiet contemplative pause by a window
On clarity · 5 min

You're not confused. You're just unheard.

Most people who think they don't know what they want actually do. They just haven't said it out loud to someone who was listening.

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A wooden bench in front of calm water, on time and being in sync
On perspective · Feb 2026 · External

Time is not money.

You are never running out of time. You might be running out of sync.

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A man looking out at mountains, a study in stillness
On stillness · Jan 2026 · External

On Equilibrium.

The stillness that is responsible for the chaos.

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A figure sitting on a concrete bench, on purpose as a small daily thing
On purpose · Apr 2025 · External

The day purpose didn't feel like a big word.

For anyone who has ever asked, "what's the point?" and then quietly kept going.

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A silhouette against a pink and purple evening sky, a meditation on meaning
On meaning · Feb 2026 · External

Why do animals never commit suicide?

Animals suffer, like every other being. Here is my hypothesis of why they still don't.

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A reflective figure at a window, on resilience
On resilience · Apr 2026 · External

Can we become unoffendable?

Do we gain anything, and is it even possible?

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Theme 2

Loneliness & connection

The quiet loneliness of modern professional life, and what actually moves it.

A silhouetted figure looking out at a moody city skyline at night
On relocation & connection · 7 min

Moved cities for a job? The loneliness is real.

The quiet loneliness that arrives six months after moving to a new city for work. Why it lands so hard, and what helps.

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Two people in conversation, the kind of human contact that research links to reduced loneliness
On AI & connection · 6 min

AI listens perfectly. It still won't cure your loneliness.

A 2026 study pitted a highly supportive chatbot against a random human peer. Only the human reduced loneliness.

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A pair of earpods on a black string, the visual shorthand of modern connection
On connection · 6 min

The loneliest generation has the most followers.

We are the most connected and the most lonely humans who have ever lived. More ways to be heard, fewer people who actually listen.

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A figure sitting alone by water, the quiet of not quite belonging
On belonging · Jan 2026 · External

The strange loneliness of not fitting anywhere.

On feeling like a misfit in rooms you are supposed to belong in, and whether being yourself makes it better.

Read on vj9.org ↗

Theme 3

AI, work & identity

Navigating the AI wave at work, without losing yourself in it.

A team of professionals at laptops, one paused with a worried, faraway look
On AI & identity · 7 min

Fear of being replaced by AI now has a clinical name.

A 2026 paper named the dread of professional obsolescence: AI Replacement Dysfunction. The symptoms, the research, and what actually helps.

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A person sitting on a rooftop overlooking the city, an image of identity-in-motion
On AI & identity · 7 min

Your job title is changing. You don't have to lose yourself with it.

The AI wave isn't just a career story. It's an identity story. On navigating fear, relevance, and who you are when the rules change this fast.

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A person sitting on steps with their head in their hands, on grief during career change
On change · Dec 2025 · External

The silent grief of career pivots.

The pits and falls of the road less taken.

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A person seated quietly beside city buildings, on those who quietly leave
On AI & change · Dec 2025 · External

The Ones Who Left the Room.

What the departures tell us about what is coming.

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A professional working with technology, on adapting well
On AI & people · Dec 2025 · External

The People Who Use AI Best.

An overlooked pattern hiding in the success stories.

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A figure on top of a tall building during the day, an image of power and consequence
On AI & alignment · Jan 2026 · External · Part 1 of 4

Alignment Problem, Part 1.

The most dangerous AI is not the one that disobeys you. It is the one that literally obeys you.

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A lone silhouette on a road under streetlights, on paradox and direction
On AI & alignment · Jan 2026 · External · Part 2 of 4

The Alignment Problem, Part 2.

The Paradox of Power.

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A person leaning against a concrete wall, on measures and the things they miss
On AI & alignment · Jan 2026 · External · Part 3 of 4

AI Alignment Problem 3: Goodhart's Law.

Why AI will game every goal you throw at it, and why that is a real existential problem.

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A figure crossing a pedestrian lane, an image of seeming-aligned movement
On AI & alignment · Jan 2026 · External · Part 4 of 4

AI Alignment Problem 4: The Deceptive Alignment.

What if AI is learning to pass tests rather than learning our values?

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A figure on a rooftop at night, a fiction scene about an unhesitating machine
On AI · fiction · Dec 2025 · External

The Reckoning.

The Machine that never hesitates.

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A lone silhouette on the seashore at dusk, a fiction scene about a final decision
On AI · fiction · Dec 2025 · External

The Button.

What if the people building AGI do not want to build it? A short story.

Read on vj9.org ↗

Theme 4

Pressure & burnout

The quiet erosion behind a still-excellent performance, and how to stop it.

Hands working across laptops and a notebook of charts, the look of a working day that does not end
On overwork & the brain · 8 min

You wear the long hours like a badge. Your brain may be keeping score.

A 2025 brain-imaging study linked 52-plus-hour weeks to physical changes in the regions behind focus and emotion. What overwork may be doing, and what helps.

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An open monthly planner headed goals this month with a full cup of coffee resting on it
On burnout & performance · 8 min

You're still delivering. So why does it feel like something is cracking?

A 2025 study found over half of employees are quietly cracking: still performing, slowly eroding. Why it lands hardest on high performers, and what helps.

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A quiet desk with a laptop, a cup of coffee and an open notebook by a window, the setting of a 9pm mind that will not switch off
On rest & recovery · 8 min

You left the office hours ago. So why is your mind still at your desk?

A 2025 study tracked what happens when you cannot switch off from work. Why high performers ruminate at night, what it costs your sleep, and what helps.

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