the write way to think
"Writing is thinking.
To write well is to think clearly.
That’s why it’s so hard."
—David McCullough
It first struck me while taking notes at university that writing could be a vehicle for critical thinking.
Trial and error showed me that mindlessly typing up what my lecturers said was futile — I was absorbing little and retaining nothing.
Only when I trained myself to listen, rework the knowledge in my head, and then write it all down, did I actually begin to grasp what I was being taught. Making my understanding mine allowed me to enter the incredible feedback loop of incremental learning that writing enables.
Whenever I sat down to write, I would have to choose my words carefully to express myself precisely the way I intended. (Often, I’d use Merriam-Webster to learn about complex words or find synonyms. Every artist has their tools.)
Once I had the words, I would have to put them down. But pages require logic in ways that brainwaves don’t: writing forced me to herd my rambling thoughts. Words now had to walk in single file towards an “a-ha!” moment.
So, as I jotted down notes in preparation for exams, I would face my biases, spot gaps in my knowledge, sift out the excess, ask questions, and find answers. And I’d do this on repeat until I could explain the topic to someone who had never heard of it before.
The process let me think about what I was learning. It sparked an energising curiosity within me that brought every new concept to life. Writing to absorb knowledge allowed me to hone my understanding of a topic, which in turn allowed me to write about it clearly.
Critical thinking is a coveted skill in high demand and short supply. But perhaps it wouldn’t be — if more people thought with their pens.