As I stared at a blank sheet, my mind was skimming through ideas. I was unable to connect any of them. Although I had a vague idea of what I wanted to write, I was at a loss for words. I was unable to write. It was haunting. It still is.
No matter how much I read about a subject, I've come to realize that it means nothing unless I can effectively express it in writing. After all that reading, you'll be left with nothing but topic labels and meaningless quotes.
Nearly all of the individuals responsible for the greatest scientific discoveries in human history were prolific writers. They wrote to learn, not to express what they already knew.
What Feynman says of his notebooks1,
They aren’t a record of my thinking process. They are my thinking process. I actually did the work on the paper.
If you're genuinely curious, Try to convey your understanding of the topic on paper or a screen. It will be a hauntingly beautiful trip. You will frequently discover that you lack any knowledge that is reliable enough to be used in daily life.
You cannot apply ideas until you can clearly articulate them (except to fool bunch of idiots). Simply remembering the quotes/facts is suboptimal. If you truly want to benefit from inherited knowledge, Write. Only by writing can you fill in the blanks in your mind. Those gaps become apparent when they are in front of your eyes. Now you can reread or conduct additional research to fill in the blanks.
When I stare at a blank page, I feel as if I'm about to throw out all of my internal organs. Writing forces you to make meaning of what you read. The worst time to write is the best time to write.
Writing is thinking. It's easy to read a blog post or watch a crash course on the subject, feel accomplished, and get away with it. If you try to write afterwards, you will frequently experience a minor stroke and your mind will begin making excuses not to write. That is precisely the time to write.
The person who says he knows what he thinks but cannot express it usually does not know what he thinks. — Mortimer Adler
After I started writing, I realised that all the concepts I had in my head regarding physics, politics, morality, the environment, society, business, economics, or life in general were completely irrational. Prior to writing, I was unaware that I had too many (occasionally complimentary) opinions on the matter.
Writing here does not always imply writing an essay. Mind maps, infographics, spreadsheets, and bullet points are all effective. The gist of it is to thoroughly understand the subject.
If you want to clear your mind, write it down. You'll feel immediate relief. You no longer have the burden of remembering.
Writing is defragging brain2
Most of the ideas we have in our heads are hazy. Most good ideas are nuanced, and there are numerous caveats. It is necessary to consider these nuances when developing mental models of the subject.
It takes time to distil an idea. It, too, starts with dumping everything on paper or the screen. You've now defragged your memory. Other programs can be loaded. You can see all of the gaps in front of you. Fill in the blanks. Connect the dots. Read, archive, evaluate, analyse, synthesise, inquire, reject, challenge, propose, and express. Learning happens.
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