From [PG](https://paulgraham.com/writes.html): > The reason so many people have trouble writing is that it's fundamentally difficult. To write well you have to think clearly, and thinking clearly is hard [...] > If you're thinking without writing, you only think you're thinking. From Confucious (slightly less famous thinker): > "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." There's two things at play IMO: * If you're treading a paved path, then what happens is the [[Generation effect]]. When you force yourself to paraphrase a concept before writing it down, you have to grasp it yourself. It has to go through your mental embedding space, and that's understanding. * If you're treading a new path, then it's even more important. You have to be sure that you understand it. Writing it down means you're creating an artifact that should stand by itself. For that to happen, you can't leave loose ends. #published 2025-03-02