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Writing about what you learn pushes you to understand topics better

addyosmani.com

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Re: Writing about what you learn pushes you to understand topics better

#71

Post by goeiedaggoeie »

benmo_atx wrote: post #67
goeiedaggoeie wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

using it is the first step. explaining it to others the next, and finally to really understand, writing about it so others understand it really embeds the knowledge. This is why written cultures in engineering organisations are so powerful, especially if you disseminate the responsibility of writing.

I guess I’d say “using it” should be steps 1, 2, and 3. Explaining it and writing about it are generous ways to share your understanding, but in my mind that’s a different goal.

I have found that using "it" is a lot easier than writing about "it". It is not about being generous it is about deepening the knowledge in your mind and structuring it. different strokes and all that. In my engineering teams I enforce a "Written culture", from the bottom up (so mids and juniors are forced to write), as much as possible.

Re: Writing about what you learn pushes you to understand topics better

#76

Post by mr_mitm »

maxov wrote: post #68
winter_blue wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, that's actually deeper than it sounds. I do wonder though: did a lot of famous scientists (like Einstein, Feynman, Turing, etc) use writing as a vehicle for learning?

Absolutely! (also see the article) https://www.colorado.edu/artssciences-advising/resource-libr...

Also, see the Feynman algorithm:

https://proftomcrick.com/2011/04/26/feynman-problem-solving-...

> 1. Write down the problem.

> 2. Think very hard.

> 3. Write down the answer.

The first step is crucial.

Re: Writing about what you learn pushes you to understand topics better

#80

Post by throw1234651234 »

Decabytes wrote: post #19

I have learned so much writing my Substack. I refer back to my articles all the time when I need a refresher on certain topics. Plus it’s another feather in your cap when you are in a job interview. If you say you know xyz and you can point to a place where you wrote about it, it lends more credibility. I too have struggled with making writing a habit. But I’ve overcome it in a few ways. 1. I make a clear goal for th…

I will form my thoughts as a reply to you, since it's in a similar vein. To me, writing is always a tedious process. I can ** out articles quickly, but 52 articles a year? This reminds me of people who say "Read a Book a Day"^tm. If you are really writing articles on topics you have a weak understanding of, while working full time, with the articles being somewhat original/new, how in the world are you writing one a week?

To go back to the generic - journaling (and writing articles) seems very useful until you contrast it with the amount of time it takes to put out something good.

For example, when I have "real" questions, I can't even find a Stackoverflow / Google article on them to even start researching, let alone have my own article out in a week. Unless you guys are writing "Here is the 5001st article on how FastAPI routers work", "Here is how z-level in HTML works!" or something.

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