Writing is the ticket to a clear understanding

Marc Brooker lists five ways in which Writing is Magic. They are all true. The first is my favorite.

First, clarity. I’m sure you know the quote “Writing is nature’s way of letting you know how sloppy your thinking is”, and knowing how sloppy your thinking is allows you to sharpen it, test your arguments, and test different explanations. I find, more often than not, that I understand something much less well when I sit down to write about it than when I’m thinking about it in the shower. In fact, I find that I change my own mind on things a lot when I try write them down. It really is a powerful tool for finding clarity in your own mind. Once you have clarity in your own mind, you’re much more able to explain it to others.