Nice post. Read the whole thing!!!
The point of writing is to help others see, but what exactly do we help others see? Consider:
- Show – Show the world new ideas (or insights).
- Sort – Attach quality signals to shown ideas.
- Shill – Push ideas, via other sorts of influences.
Many new ideas or insights can be expressed clearly in just a few paragraphs. Others may take a few pages; a few need whole books. With more work, one can express ideas in different ways, for more chances to connect to different readers, and attach good descriptors and connections, so that folks searching for such things can find your idea.
The vast majority of intellectual effort, however, is not such “showing”, but instead “sorting” and “shilling.” Advocates push ideas via repetition, celebrity endorsement, etc., pundits are witty, engaging, elegant, etc, and academics make impressive-looking math models, theorems, data collections, stat studies, prototypes, etc.
via Overcoming Bias : Show, Sort, Shill.