The Stoic Blot [with Jason Pack]

Nov 1, 2025

Join Jason Pack, a backgammon grandmaster and geopolitical analyst, as he explores how the game mirrors life and leadership. Discover how focusing on the present move can enhance decision-making, while Stoic principles help maintain composure in chaos. Jason reflects on the 'enduring disorder' in global politics, advocating for wise cooperation over nationalistic impulses. He shares insights on emotional control, learning from mistakes, and the importance of strategic thinking, revealing that true courage lies in decisive action when opportunity strikes.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Focus On The Present Move

Backgammon forces present-focused decision-making: past bad rolls and future outcomes are irrelevant to the current move.
Jason Pack compares this to quarterbacks needing short memories to perform under pressure.

ANECDOTE

From Self-Blame To Short Memory

Jason describes habitually beating himself up over mistakes early in life and learning to move on.
He shifted to playing the next decision instead of ruminating about sunk costs.

INSIGHT

Composure Improves Performance

Stoic traits (composure, short memory) map to better performance under randomness.
Northern Europeans and Japanese perform well because they mask emotion and quickly reapply reason.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In this episode I talk with Jason Pack — a world-class backgammon grandmaster, geopolitical analyst, and host of Disorder, a podcast about what he calls “the global enduring disorder.” It’s an unexpected mix of topics: the psychology of high-stakes decision-making, the Stoic discipline of attention, and how lessons from the game board apply to politics, leadership, and life. What starts as a conversation about dice and probability evolves into a reflection on courage, restraint, and rational focus — the same virtues Stoicism trains in us every day.

Key takeaways from this episode include:
— Backgammon teaches Stoic focus: attention belongs to the present move, not to past mistakes or imagined futures.
— “Tilting” in games — or in life — is what happens when emotion overruns reason; Stoic practice helps restore composure and clear judgment.
— The best players (and the best leaders) understand their own dispositions — courage, restraint, or excess — and correct for them.
— Stoicism and strategy both demand discernment between what’s up to us (our choices, our attitude) and what isn’t (chance, luck, politics).
— In a chaotic world — Jason’s “enduring disorder” — wise cooperation and measured risk are the antidotes to reactive nationalism and impulsive power.
— Whether in global politics or a roll of the dice, fortune favors those who prepare reasoned courage and act decisively when the moment comes.

For an ad-free version of this podcast please visit https://stoicismpod.com/members

For links to other valuable Stoic things, please visit https://links.stoicismpod.com

You can listen to Jason Pack's Disorder podcast here: https://linktr.ee/disorderpod and learn more about it here: https://disordershow.com/

Why Backgammon Can Help us Order the Disorder Marc Olsen and Jason Pack on what BG teaches us about life: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ep-132-why-backgammon-can-help-us-order-the-disorder/id1706818264?i=1000718750592

For more on Backgammon Galaxy visit - https://www.backgammongalaxy.com/

For a very fun video produced by Marc and featuring Jason about the World Backgammon Championship and what BG teaches about Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TebkgCNS7OI

If you'd like to provide feedback on this episode, or have question, you may do so as a member. Email sent by non-members will not be answered (though they may be read). This isn't punitive, I just cannot keep up. Limiting access to members reduces my workload. You're always invited to leave a comment on Spotify, member or not.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices