Over recent years, especially in business and technical fields, the conditions under which we write and read have been changed by language models and the simplified experiences of AI.
Thanks, Donald, for a great reminder on how and why one should write. I found these two paragraphs to be very powerful.
"Personally, I struggle most with clarity and accessibility. Some things we want to say are inherently difficult, strange or resistant. There's a difference, however, between difficulty that serves the expression of complex ideas and difficulty that serves the ego.
Structure provides a container within which ambiguity and difficulty can be explored without becoming mere confusion."
I constantly struggle with them as well, and to be honest, I have taken help from LLMs. English is not my mother tongue.
I always make sure that I write down my thoughts, and then, for clarity and even transition from one thought to another, I use LLM to see if it can help me clarify my thoughts further, and then I rewrite them again. It is like having access to an editor.
Thanks again for providing, as always, thought-provoking and enjoyable reading.
Beautifully, skillfully, and empathetically done, my friend. Thanks for the powerful reminders. As I was reading your post, the idea struck me that wonderful writing often has a feeling of confession or self-portrait. There's a willingness to allow transparency, which is essential for avoiding a frankenessay in which the parts are there but not soul of authentic coherence. Authenticity has that feeling that's hard to script, in which you feel the thread of the whole without losing sight of all the little veins of authentic tension that make it credible as the product of a fellow human. Thanks again for the gift. And for the nudge toward greater discipline in the mastery of an ancient and important craft.
Thanks, Donald, for a great reminder on how and why one should write. I found these two paragraphs to be very powerful.
"Personally, I struggle most with clarity and accessibility. Some things we want to say are inherently difficult, strange or resistant. There's a difference, however, between difficulty that serves the expression of complex ideas and difficulty that serves the ego.
Structure provides a container within which ambiguity and difficulty can be explored without becoming mere confusion."
I constantly struggle with them as well, and to be honest, I have taken help from LLMs. English is not my mother tongue.
I always make sure that I write down my thoughts, and then, for clarity and even transition from one thought to another, I use LLM to see if it can help me clarify my thoughts further, and then I rewrite them again. It is like having access to an editor.
Thanks again for providing, as always, thought-provoking and enjoyable reading.
Quaid
Beautifully, skillfully, and empathetically done, my friend. Thanks for the powerful reminders. As I was reading your post, the idea struck me that wonderful writing often has a feeling of confession or self-portrait. There's a willingness to allow transparency, which is essential for avoiding a frankenessay in which the parts are there but not soul of authentic coherence. Authenticity has that feeling that's hard to script, in which you feel the thread of the whole without losing sight of all the little veins of authentic tension that make it credible as the product of a fellow human. Thanks again for the gift. And for the nudge toward greater discipline in the mastery of an ancient and important craft.