Thinking through Writing

Thinking is the mental models manipulation process. We are thinking only when we are actively processing information. If we are reading or listening and not expressing at least our understanding of the material, there is no evidence of thinking that can be found. And if there is no evidence there is no thinking.

“Pure” thinking is not very helpful because it’s hard to keep focus on thoughts. Especially hard to focus when the complexity of mental models grows to the level when you can’t keep all elements of the model within range of the focus. Results of thinking are unstable, it’s hard to come back to the exact form of the same thought if it’s being kept inside of the brain.

Knowledge is personal

Raw information becomes knowledge only when it’s been processed. This fact makes knowledge very personal phenomena. Piece of text copied to a database can’t be considered knowledge. It might be a point of reference, but not knowledge.

Thinking through writing

Only through making notes or any other form of fixing your thoughts in symbolic form can the thinking process actually happen.

Results of thinking should be extracted from the brain and fixed in a symbolic form. Extraction can be done through note taking. It’s what I’m doing right now.

Advantages of writing

During the note taking process actual thinking is happening. If you can’t express thought in writing than you don’t have a thought.