For some reason “writing to think” never worked well for me. I can only figure out stuff with nonverbal thinking and imagination, then try to put it in words.
There’s elements of both for me. The central thesis or idea always develops from (mostly) nonverbal thinking, but writing helps me define its boundaries and connect it to other mental models I have.
One thing I’ve learnt regarding that is that, if while writing it seems like my central idea itself needs changing, it’s more likely that I’ve just gotten lost in the weeds and need to expand my view, than that the idea itself is wrong. It’s tempting to “change your mind” in the middle of writing, to feel like you’re growing and learning, and but (at least for me) that’s often a result of availability bias and isolated demands of rigor on myself.
For some reason “writing to think” never worked well for me. I can only figure out stuff with nonverbal thinking and imagination, then try to put it in words.
Interesting. If anyone else has this experience I’d like to hear it.
There’s elements of both for me. The central thesis or idea always develops from (mostly) nonverbal thinking, but writing helps me define its boundaries and connect it to other mental models I have.
One thing I’ve learnt regarding that is that, if while writing it seems like my central idea itself needs changing, it’s more likely that I’ve just gotten lost in the weeds and need to expand my view, than that the idea itself is wrong. It’s tempting to “change your mind” in the middle of writing, to feel like you’re growing and learning, and but (at least for me) that’s often a result of availability bias and isolated demands of rigor on myself.