Thinking Without Writing

“If you are thinking without writing, you only think you are thinking.” says Leslie Lamport in Thinking for Programmers talk. Having always wanted to maintain a blog, this got me thinking about writing regularly.

Consuming without Thinking

Personally, my default activity on weekends has become binge consumption of content: web articles, tv shows, movies and sometimes books. They continue to be enjoyable. But after a few days, I would barely recall the data mentioned in a news report, or the plot-twists of a movie or the experimental results of a study. Without taking time to reflect, it has all become a blur.

This seems to be a global phenomenon. The rate of media consumption is increasing. US media consumption rate rose from 11 hours per day per person in 2008 to 15 hours in 2015, according to a study by UC San Diego. As explained in the study, if we are consuming 15 hours worth of media per day, it only means that we are multi-tasking and not paying attention, resulting in lower comprehension.

Thinking through Writing

Writing could provide the time to reflect and assimilate. I have been toying with this idea for two years. But I have been avoided writing by rationalising not knowing the topic, audience or purpose. I also feel into the perfection trap, trying to figure out the perfect platform, the perfect content, forgetting that “perfect is the enemy of good”. So, this blog is a personal attempt to take time to think through writing.