Friday, March 25, 2022

Putting Ideas into Words

Paul Graham has an essay on writing - and why you should write.

You can know a great deal about something without writing about it. Can you ever know so much that you wouldn't learn more from trying to explain what you know?

I find this to be true and in large part this why I blog (please note that I'm in no way trying to equate myself to Paul Graham or any serious writer). In part to get the ideas out of my head (to hopefully make room for new ideas) and because writing those thoughts and ideas down helps me to better understand the subject whether it be how the Ukraine war may affect the food supply or how a free agent signing may help one of my favorite sports teams.

Comedians are perfect examples of this. Most great comedians get an idea for a joke and the first thing they do is write it down. Then they rewrite and rewrite the joke until they feel it is ready to test out on an audience. And based upon the reaction of the audience they'll probably rewrite the joke some more. Changing words and maybe adding some tags.

Anyway - Paul Graham essays are always worth your time.

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