While this is meant mostly to explain my writing, it also applies to whatever I do outside of writing. This piece is a reminder to myself, and anyone curious, the lines I draw for myself.
How I write
I’ve learned that when I write, I prefer doing it in solitude. Also, instead of worrying about how often I publish, I like to focus on the quality of what I’m publishing. I tried the whole “publish regularly” when I started, but it just ends up feeling way too much like a chore, rather than something I enjoy.
Also, I’ve noticed my most natural writing often turns into thematic threads of essays and stories, which makes me think it’s better suited for larger pieces of work. Is that a book? A series of essays? All interesting questions I suppose. But, again, this leads me to writing mostly in solitude and publishing more irregularly so I can focus on the quality of these threads more.
If you’d like to stay updated on my writing, I recommend subscribing to my newsletter. I also recycle some of my accumulated highlights and share them publicly on social media (might even be why you’re here).
What I write about
For many years, I’ve let my mind wonder across a lot of subjects (and still do). Mathematics, physics, history, engineering, philosophy, business, and so on. But, even with all these subjects to pick from, my writing tends to head towards a few common themes.
What I typically write about:
- Engineering
- Mathematics
- Complex systems
- Life
What is learned
Learning should only be to gain useful knowledge. What kinds of knowledge I’ve found useful are called tactical and strategic. Tactical knowledge lets race car drivers immediately navigate through complex terrain despite not knowing every inch of it beforehand. Strategic knowledge lets your local government address crime without pissing off the locals, an absence which makes them incapable of achieving either. Both involve the real-world, and so your knowledge should too.
The next natural question is “where does this learning comes from?” My answer is simple, “by any means possible.” And I really mean it. If you need to know how a car works and books are 100s of miles away (unlikely), go to a junk yard and find out. If you don’t have an economics book near, go start any business you can think of and find out.
Even if you have a library filled with books, try studying them and prove them in the real world. Together, learning both ways is truly best. And maybe some curiosity pushes you into a PhD; that’s fine too. All that matters is the knowledge gained is tactical and/or strategic (otherwise, don’t bother).
Ideas
Ideas, to me, are internal. That is, we may have similar ideas, but they’re never the same. Ideas are fingerprints, our way of applying a developed filter from experiences to our overall thematic knowledge of things.
If you want a hint as to whether your ideas are yours, try this: for a day, move all of your books and electronics away from you. Then go somewhere alone and ask yourself, “where did this idea come from?” The more you can’t (honestly) point to any sources outside your mind, the more likely it’s yours. And the longer it rests in your mind, the more concrete.
Own yourself
I’m not just talking about owning your actions. Accountability should be obvious to you. I’m talking about owning yourself. Everything you do should be because of you, not what society tells you. If you don’t own yourself, someone else does.