Vancouver Curiosity Club · Think
🪞⚡ Emerson’s Self-Reliance - what does it mean to be yourself
The essentials
- When
- Sunday, October 18, 2026 · 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. PDTTimes shown in America/Vancouver.
- Location
- UBC Learning Exchange612 Main St, Vancouver, BC V6A 2V3, Canada
- Availability
- Open
- Capacity
- 12 + waitlist
About this event
Short essay discussion - read beforehand.
What this is
This revives the cancelled September 27 Emerson event. Everyone says “be yourself” now. Usually they mean: be yourself in a way that photographs well, does not cost you anything, and still gets approved by the room. Emerson is more annoying than that. Self-Reliance is about self-trust, conformity, integrity, the fear of being misunderstood, and the strange pressure to become more acceptable than honest.
A few questions for the room
- “When does independence become integrity, and when does it become selfishness?”
- “What does it actually cost to be misunderstood?”
- “How much of your personality is conviction, and how much is adaptation?”
Reading
Read Self-Reliance only. Original text: Open gutenberg.org Modernized reading package
When and where
🗓️ Date: Sunday, October 18th, 2026 🕒 Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM PDT 📍 Location: UBC Learning Exchange 612 Main St, Vancouver, BC V6A 2V3, Canada Meeting point: Main entrance at 612 Main Street. Please arrive 10 minutes before the event starts. Doors close 10 minutes after the start time. Cap: 12
