I read that kind of wishing for a more gendered take on "seriousness". I mean, I know he includes women and I appreciate that, but I think a woman would have had a very different take. (For example, how often does a woman get to be the "fun" parent as he makes himself out to be? Maybe we'd like to be the "fun" parent, but do we get to be? How does society approach a "serious" woman? Do you have to be 90 to be taken seriously?)

1. The male skew of this take on seriousness is such a great point.
2. I don’t know whether numbering one’s paragraphs contributes to an impression of seriousness but it seems to be a good way of absolving non sequiturs.

But why, though? I am not interested in taking myself seriously. I aspire to balance elegance, gravitas, joyfulness, strength, warmth, and even downright clownishness. This guy doesn't seem like the kind of person who knows how to do a cartwheel or tell a good joke or get excited about a hobby, and that's fine, but it doesn't even sound like he's enjoying it. He seems to be describing a way of living that is self-policing and worrying about what other people think 24/7. Good for him I guess, definitely not for me.

This reminded me of an old Russell Baker chestnut on the distinction between serious and solemn. Despite some anachronistic examples (SJ Perelman vs Norman Mailer, oof), it's a helpful way of looking at seriousness and allowing that term to encircle curiosity, joy, and creativity while filtering out the general dullness and cynicism that can undermine seriousness even while wearing its face. These days for me it's all related to age, and the capitulations to solemnity that late-ish middle age seems to enforce. "Children almost always begin by being serious, which is what makes them so entertaining when compared to adults as a class" as Baker writes. Children have a greater ability to take things seriously whereas with age the weariness makes this more of a slog (alas). Probably time for a rewatch of John Cleese on creativity, which has similar themes!

Yeah, this essay rubs me the wrong way. He doesn't explain what seriousness is, other than a bunch of other adjectives somehow mashed together: focused, driven, taciturn, well-spoken. Worse, he doesn't explain why someone would want to be a serious person, other than it somehow correlates with success and/or respect. I would not consider myself a serious person, based on this list, but I am serious when I need to be (like on a meeting with clients or dealing with my dad's doctors), but the rest of the time I'm funny, joyous, immature and mildly hedonistic. Also, Logan Roy is a FICTIONAL CHARACTER.

I trust my wife with my life. If I fell gravely ill she'd move heaven and earth to care for me. She's a grade school teacher and she's passionate about helping her students.

I have a friend who is an executive at a Fortune 100 company. He's had heavy financial and personnel responsibilities for decades.

I have another friend who is a professional musician. He practices for hours most days so that he can perform at the level he expects from himself, and others expect from him.

All of these people are kind, funny, self-effacing, and personable. All of them are spouses and parents and are deeply committed to their families. All of them are between 60 and 70 years old. None of them present as serious on an interpersonal level, but all of them are serious about many aspects of their lives. A person doesn't need to be a self-important jerk like Logan Roy to be serious.

This essay begins with a question: "What Does it Mean to be a Serious Person?" Which is immediately followed with, "... I don’t think there’s a definitive answer to this." This invites consideration of a more covert question, "What Does it Mean to Me to be a Serious Person?"
After some consideration, here are my thoughts.
A serious person is a person who doesn't fuck around. If they say they're going to do a thing, they do it. If they say they're going to run a marathon, or learn to speak Russian, or quit their job and start a new career, they mean it, and they go off and do those things.
A serious person is more action than talk. They don't flit from thing to thing. They don't do things to impress or to be performative or because they're trendy. They are sincere in their convictions.
When Yoda tells Luke Skywalker, "Do, or do not. There is no try", Yoda is exhorting Luke to be a Serious Person. He's saying, "Luke, if you're going to be a Jedi, you have to be serious about it. Don't fuck around."
This question also leads to some self-reflection: Am I a serious person? The most honest answer I can give is: I try. Sometimes I succeed. But I must admit to a large quantity of unserious fucking around.