Ask HN: Pros and cons of thinking in public vs. in private?

#1

Post by samh748 » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 8:35 PM UTC

Dear HNers who engage in any form of "thinking in public" (whether that's blogging, posting notes online, or maybe even participating in HN/Twitter/forum discussions): What are some of the pros and cons of thinking in public vs thinking in private?

Since it's relatively easy to find the benefits of blogging and other ways of thinking in public, I'm especially curious to hear about some of the potential cons of thinking in public / the benefits of thinking in private?

And with that in mind, how does one effectively manage both to make the best out of both approaches?

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of thinking in public vs. in private?

#2

Post by tlb » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 9:10 PM UTC

There are quite a few things that are probably true, but you can't say publicly without attracting a lot of unwanted angry attention. If your line of thinking approaches any of these topics, it makes it difficult to think through the issue in public.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of thinking in public vs. in private?

#3

Post by scyzoryk_xyz » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 9:16 PM UTC

Hey, I never actually thought about what I’m doing here as “thinking in public”.

Makes it less of a waste of time somehow…

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of thinking in public vs. in private?

#4

Post by reidjs » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 9:21 PM UTC

Cons: coworkers, friends, romantic partners, family may find your half baked, low quality content and judge you accordingly.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of thinking in public vs. in private?

#5

Post by sysadm1n » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 9:22 PM UTC

I used to blog, and to be honest, I am embarrassed of about 90% of my posts. I trimmed 90% of the posts that annoyed me a year later, and the 'cream' or the golden crop remain, the ones I am proud of, and had the most impact on people.

My blog is in archive mode now. (BTW: Not linking to it here for privacy reasons).

I am thinking of blogging again, only this time I might use a pseudonym so my ideas are not forever tied to my legal name.

I will also be very careful about what I publish. I am thinking of having a delay of 6 months before I publish so I can edit parts that will inevitably annoy me.

For some reason, after hitting 'Publish' that's when I see the mistakes, even after previewing the draft several times and deemed it 'perfect'.

Things will go wrong.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of thinking in public vs. in private?

#6

Post by coverclock » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 9:24 PM UTC

Being able to get feedback can be both a pro and a con, depending on the nature of the feedback.

Sometimes you can use information asymmetry to your advantage; thinking in public may work against that.

For sure thinking in public can be a form of marketing, especially if you are self-employed, like I am.

Having said all that, I've been writing a public blog since 2006, and have 39 repositories in GitHub, most of which are public, and that is a form of thinking in public as well. So I guess I cast my vote on the issue a while ago. I try to be authentic, honest, true to my values, open to change, and be the best person I can be, when I share my opinions.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of thinking in public vs. in private?

#7

Post by zffr » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 9:25 PM UTC

One of the pros (and cons) about thinking in public is being corrected about mistakes you make in your content. One on hand, it can be embarrassing to be wrong about something. On the other hand, being corrected is a great way to speed up your learning process. Strangers who comment on your content can teach you things you didn't even know you didn't know.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of thinking in public vs. in private?

#8

Post by staktrace » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 9:28 PM UTC

I've found that one of the more subtle cons to thinking in public is that you become more attached to the opinion you have expressed. I'm not sure if that's because you are forced to defend it more vigorously or just because it's "written down". But I do find that I'm less likely to change my mind on a particular topic after blogging about it.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of thinking in public vs. in private?

#9

Post by hgsgm » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 9:29 PM UTC

tlb wrote: post #2

There are quite a few things that are probably true, but you can't say publicly without attracting a lot of unwanted angry attention. If your line of thinking approaches any of these topics, it makes it difficult to think through the issue in public.

Public can be anonymous (or anonymous enough if your thoughts are mild enough to not inspire a doxxing and get a harmful reaction if you are doxxed).

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of thinking in public vs. in private?

#10

Post by thdc » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 9:30 PM UTC

If by "thinking" you mean strictly your own thoughts, I don't think public or private should have much, if any, effect.

The difference between publicizing your thoughts or keeping them private is what discourse is attracted - the ability to gather other people's thoughts and views on the topic... hopefully constructive ones - which you may then think about.

It's possible to come across these other thoughts without going public with varying degrees of difficulty, but anticipating that you are going public can influence how you present your own thoughts in various ways.

The above sentences are my thoughts which I've shared publicly. I tend to weaken my claims when thinking publicly with words like think, believe, probably, etc. to invite alternate ideas if someone would disagree or reinforcement if one agrees. Does it work? I have no clue.

In general, I only think publicly when I'm interested to know what other people think of a topic (usually things more opinion based); otherwise I stay private. I also try to avoid anything that invites non-constructive discussions.