| Agreed, as a programmer, you are constantly able to think faster than you can express yourself, and it certainly feels as though nothing you can do (not even typing) allows you to lay out your thoughts and play around with them does it justice. Some of my best memories and learnings were discovered on paper and pen while at my keyboard. And often we stick them up on the walls afterward to serve a as a reminder and reference. One good example of this is state machines, sometimes there is just so much state to track in a system, your brain no longer than handle enough combinations, or dimensions. I like to draw them out (which is why I started https://collusionapp.com), and then outsource some of the brain work to others by sharing it as well so they can help me with the confusing aspects of the states once I've mentally unloaded them onto the page. I think drawing the thoughts out lets you then "forget" the entire context of the problem and allows your "mind space" to kind of focus on the sub-parts or details of the problem. I just don't feel like ONLY text can solve that while we still have people like us who were brought up with pen and paper. I really think the benefit of technology here over conventional handwriting is the ability to outsource thinking through sharing, which helps with not thinking fast enough as well as being able to deliver your message in a freeform and quick manner, especially with creative disciplines. I think having super quick access is also important before you lose thoughts too, I guess having tabs open already kind of like blank paper is super useful. |