More people should write (2012) • Hacker News Board

Re: More people should write (2012)

#11

Post by camel-cdr » Sat, Nov 18, 2023, 1:52 PM UTC

narinxas wrote: post #6

the more people out there that write, the less writtings by people are worth scarcity never creates value, but it always incresases it but also: the more pople have written, the cheaper text and AI bot training become which makes me feel in a funny situation, the more I write, the better I get at it, but it also makes it simpler for AIs bots to learn my style and make it worthless by the inverse-scarcity phenomenon

Why should one care about "worth"? If more people write then there will be more bad and more good writing. (good/bad in terms of personal enjoyment from reading)

Re: More people should write (2012)

#12

Post by reg_dunlop » Sat, Nov 18, 2023, 1:53 PM UTC

narinxas wrote: post #6

the more people out there that write, the less writtings by people are worth scarcity never creates value, but it always incresases it but also: the more pople have written, the cheaper text and AI bot training become which makes me feel in a funny situation, the more I write, the better I get at it, but it also makes it simpler for AIs bots to learn my style and make it worthless by the inverse-scarcity phenomenon

Taking your argument, perhaps the thing that is being made scarce, through the act of writing, is ignorance

Which might have served us better before now

Re: More people should write (2012)

#13

Post by tene80i » Sat, Nov 18, 2023, 1:55 PM UTC

narinxas wrote: post #6

the more people out there that write, the less writtings by people are worth scarcity never creates value, but it always incresases it but also: the more pople have written, the cheaper text and AI bot training become which makes me feel in a funny situation, the more I write, the better I get at it, but it also makes it simpler for AIs bots to learn my style and make it worthless by the inverse-scarcity phenomenon

This only follows if the only value/worth you consider is economic value, ie for trade. Which would exclude much of what people value: creativity, scientific knowledge, insights for living, personal growth etc. Obviously those have economic value in certain ways, but it’s not their only value.

Re: More people should write (2012)

#14

Post by tuatoru » Sat, Nov 18, 2023, 1:56 PM UTC

tene80i wrote: post #13

narinxas wrote: post #6

the more people out there that write, the less writtings by people are worth scarcity never creates value, but it always incresases it but also: the more pople have written, the cheaper text and AI bot training become which makes me feel in a funny situation, the more I write, the better I get at it, but it also makes it simpler for AIs bots to learn my style and make it worthless by the inverse-scarcity phenomenon

This only follows if the only value/worth you consider is economic value, ie for trade. Which would exclude much of what people value: creativity, scientific knowledge, insights for living, personal growth etc. Obviously those have economic value in certain ways, but it’s not their only value.

Yes, getting better at communicating clearly and effectively is worth the time for social reasons. Aesthetic reasons can be important too.

Re: More people should write (2012)

#15

Post by tuatoru » Sat, Nov 18, 2023, 1:59 PM UTC

kingkongjaffa wrote: post #9

I love reading and writing. Do you all have any advice for writing more and writing better?

It's probably like photography: just do it a lot. Write about your home, your neighborhood. Edit: also read other writers' work, of course.

In novel writing there's very old advice: plan to throw away your first million words. Actually, that's good advice generally, not just for fiction.

Re: More people should write (2012)

#16

Post by ducharmdev » Sat, Nov 18, 2023, 1:59 PM UTC

narinxas wrote: post #6

the more people out there that write, the less writtings by people are worth scarcity never creates value, but it always incresases it but also: the more pople have written, the cheaper text and AI bot training become which makes me feel in a funny situation, the more I write, the better I get at it, but it also makes it simpler for AIs bots to learn my style and make it worthless by the inverse-scarcity phenomenon

This is a coldly economic take. Does the sole motivation of writing have to be for the consumption of others?

Re: More people should write (2012)

#17

Post by Apocryphon » Sat, Nov 18, 2023, 2:11 PM UTC

Is to post different from writing? Considering that so much of online user-generated content these days are posts, comments, replies. I’m not even talking about fluffy exhibitionist social media posts or incoherent comments on news articles. I mean supposedly more highbrow comments on special interest aggregator sites such as this. Forums and bulletin boards.

Does that constitute writing? Or are we just creating more ephemeral chaff?

Re: More people should write (2012)

#18

Post by smokel » Sat, Nov 18, 2023, 2:13 PM UTC

kingkongjaffa wrote: post #9

I love reading and writing. Do you all have any advice for writing more and writing better?

It depends :)

Do you have an idea what stands in the way of your ambitions?

Here are some suggestions (dang, I'm starting to sound like ChatGPT here):

1. Try an accountability partner and call them once a week to discuss progress.

2. Share your work, preferably to an audience you trust, and nourish feedback.

3. Experiment and train creativity. Write a short story, write with a pen, write technical documentation, write code.

Hope this helps.

Re: More people should write (2012)

#19

Post by narinxas » Sat, Nov 18, 2023, 2:18 PM UTC

clircle wrote: post #8

narinxas wrote: post #6

the more people out there that write, the less writtings by people are worth scarcity never creates value, but it always incresases it but also: the more pople have written, the cheaper text and AI bot training become which makes me feel in a funny situation, the more I write, the better I get at it, but it also makes it simpler for AIs bots to learn my style and make it worthless by the inverse-scarcity phenomenon

Are you trying to convince people to spend less time writing? Ive never disagreed with a comment more than this one

I'm asking a question without an answer

Re: More people should write (2012)

#20

Post by narinxas » Sat, Nov 18, 2023, 2:20 PM UTC

tene80i wrote: post #13

narinxas wrote: post #6

the more people out there that write, the less writtings by people are worth scarcity never creates value, but it always incresases it but also: the more pople have written, the cheaper text and AI bot training become which makes me feel in a funny situation, the more I write, the better I get at it, but it also makes it simpler for AIs bots to learn my style and make it worthless by the inverse-scarcity phenomenon

This only follows if the only value/worth you consider is economic value, ie for trade. Which would exclude much of what people value: creativity, scientific knowledge, insights for living, personal growth etc. Obviously those have economic value in certain ways, but it’s not their only value.

i'm just exactly at that "moment in life" where it's either 'make' money (i.e. collect it from others using trade) or recieve welfare (ask for donations, beg on the streets, call parents...)