On keeping a notebook
Why I started writing things down in public, and what I hope it does.
A notebook in public is a strange object. It is not quite a diary, because you are aware of being read, and it is not quite an essay, because you are allowed to be unfinished. That tension is the point.
Why bother
A few reasons I keep coming back to:
- Writing forces the half-thought to become a whole sentence, and the whole sentence usually reveals that the thought was wrong.
- A dated entry is a fixed point. You can return in a year and measure drift.
- Some ideas only show up when you have committed to finishing the paragraph.
The palest ink is better than the best memory.
How this is organized
Posts are grouped into a few running series — essays like this one, shorter notes, and logs.