Escaping Flatland

Getting a better sense for when you’re thinking well and when you’re faking it

Notebook. On mental proprioception

Feb 26 • Henrik Karlsson

113

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On the compulsion to make art

The work was what connected him to himself.

Feb 18 • Henrik Karlsson

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Things that connect us to ourselves, and things that don't

Notebook + recommendations

Feb 6 • Henrik Karlsson

189

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January 2026

On political power

Reflections on Robert Caro’s LBJ biography

Jan 28 • Henrik Karlsson

291

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On the preparations before writing an essay

Shooting raw footage

Jan 15 • Henrik Karlsson

199

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Being creative requires taking risks

When children learn to draw, they tend to make more and more interesting images for several years until around age five, when they learn to be boring.

Jan 7 • Henrik Karlsson

792

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December 2025

Reflections on my first year writing full time

The best essays Johanna and I wrote in 2025, and some reflections on what it was like to write them.

Dec 11, 2025 • Henrik Karlsson

414

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Just and loving seeing

Notes on Iris Murdoch

Dec 2, 2025 • Henrik Karlsson

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November 2025

The paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, I change

Looking for Alice, part 4

Nov 19, 2025 • Henrik Karlsson

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A list of books and essays that I love

I’m purposefully not looking at my bookshelf to make sure I only pick books that I’ve thought about so much that they immediately occur to me.

Nov 4, 2025 • Henrik Karlsson

772

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October 2025

When is it better to think without words?

Non-verbal, blurry thinking is faster and can search in a broader way, but it is more error-prone than verbal thought.

Oct 23, 2025 • Henrik Karlsson

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Agentic fragments

This capacity to see through objects and notice how they can be reconfigured is closely related to agency. Having learned how to pick things apart and…

Oct 8, 2025 • Henrik Karlsson

145

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