Writing Helps You Think Better
Somewhat reference: https://notes.andymatuschak.org/z8d4eJNaKrVDGTFpqRnQUPRkexB7K6XbcffAV?stackedNotes=z3N113rxPFreW9xUkLkUFomr2LUqfXbdCo3M&stackedNotes=zg3fYweZpbHeBTpcYke5mF4ZfrJutYcQEtFo
Writing is a great way to put pressure on your thinking: it’s hard to summarize something you don’t sharply understand. By trying to explain an idea, you’ll naturally try multiple framings, flesh out its edges, and see new connections. This is part of why Evergreen note-writing helps insight accumulate and why you should Write about what you read to internalize texts deeply.
This is also covered in How To Take Smart Notes 202204102146.
Part of a series of articles on Why I should Write 202302202137
uid: 202204102301 tags: #writing
Link Rot sucks, and how to combat it
I came across Link rot - Wikiwand in the context of some article I was reading recently, and, just like hypocognition 202204102031 says, I’ve thought about it and noticed a lot more now that I’m aware of what the concept means.
How to solve it
- Using pinboard, which has a downloaded archive of web pages that you’ve saved
- Relying on internal notes — taking notes on most of the important noteworthy things, and storing them as internal notes that will never go stale.
uid: 202204102013 tags: #zettelkasten #writing
Search history is observability for web browsing.
Source: https://gingkoapp.com/app#28ef6c44225f659dec000022
If you don’t work in tech
If you haven’t worked in a big tech company before, you might think tech companies are stupid for spending thousands of dollars1 every day logging terabytes of mostly useless information. 99.9% of the time, no one cares which
Observability tools are so prominent because they let you answer questions you don’t even have yet.
chrome://history/journeys is one of Chrome’s best feature additions in quite some time.
uid: 202204062059 tags: #productivity #blog-ideas
I pulled this out of my ass, but it seems roughly right given Airtable’s monthly AWS expenditure.↩︎
Tips For Technical Writing
Writing steps:
- Write the first draft
- Re-read your writing by putting yourself in the recipient’s shoes
- How to edit:
- Break it into reasonable chunks
- Remove unnecessary and distracting elements
- Remove filler text.
- Use shorter sentences.
- Use the Hemingway Editor for this.
- Use bullet points when it makes sense
- Use bolding to make documents easy to scan. Also try to have bolding in the first part of a sentence to make it easier to read.
- Use visuals, not just words.
- Value the reader’s time more than your own.
Source:
uid: 202204062023 tags: #writing #advice #software-engineering
What People Value In Others
I was talking to Mulan yesterday (debriefing after we got back home from the Tahoe April ’22 ski trip). I realized there are some fundamental differences in the things that we view in people and the ways that we interact with people. These differences affect the things that we value about other people and what other people value about us. These differences are also reflective of my own values 202301292249.
- I really value.
uid: 202204041904 tags: #insights #relationships #incomplete
202203252028 Provide details about what you wish to learn from the mentorship program.
As a new grad engineer three months into my first job, I still don’t know most things there are to know about being an everyday sound software engineer. I’m most interested in learning more about folks’ thought processes — how people think about and react to situations that arise during SWE work (breaking down large projects, debugging, handling incidents, unproductivity/burnout, etc.). I’m also interested in hearing what kinds of advice folks received from their mentors, how much of it was helpful, and how much wasn’t. Guidance related to career growth and progression would be constructive and appreciated, but craft-related mentorship would be more valuable to me currently!
From Drafts
uid: 202203252028 tags: #drafts