| Some downsides of thinking in public: * Huge potential for audience capture (https://twitter.com/EricRWeinstein/status/134792427167943065...) if you have an audience * Huge potential for self-censorship, unless you only "think" about "the correct things" * Huge potential for getting a lot of negative, unconstructive feedback * Huge potential for getting taken out of context (you wrote something for your audience, but a person unfamiliar with your writing style comes in and misunderstands you) In general I would advise against thinking in public, and if you cannot avoid it do so under a pseudonym. If you write about anything important it's quite likely that there will be people trying to tarnish your reputation instead of responding to your thoughts in writing. I often quote one of the best essays by PG: http://www.paulgraham.com/say.html "What you can't say" "Suppose in the future there is a movement to ban the color yellow. Proposals to paint anything yellow are denounced as "yellowist", as is anyone suspected of liking the color. People who like orange are tolerated but viewed with suspicion. Suppose you realize there is nothing wrong with yellow. If you go around saying this, you'll be denounced as a yellowist too, and you'll find yourself having a lot of arguments with anti-yellowists. If your aim in life is to rehabilitate the color yellow, that may be what you want. But if you're mostly interested in other questions, being labelled as a yellowist will just be a distraction. Argue with idiots, and you become an idiot. The most important thing is to be able to think what you want, not to say what you want. And if you feel you have to say everything you think, it may inhibit you from thinking improper thoughts. I think it's better to follow the opposite policy. Draw a sharp line between your thoughts and your speech. Inside your head, anything is allowed. Within my head I make a point of encouraging the most outrageous thoughts I can imagine. But, as in a secret society, nothing that happens within the building should be told to outsiders." "The problem is, there are so many things you can't say. If you said them all you'd have no time left for your real work. You'd have to turn into Noam Chomsky." and "The trouble with keeping your thoughts secret, though, is that you lose the advantages of discussion. Talking about an idea leads to more ideas. So the optimal plan, if you can manage it, is to have a few trusted friends you can speak openly to. This is not just a way to develop ideas; it's also a good rule of thumb for choosing friends. The people you can say heretical things to without getting jumped on are also the most interesting to know." |