While we naturally understand that writing is a good way to share ideas with others, we under-appreciate just how much good writing helps us think about an idea ourselves. Writing is not only a means of communication, it enables us to practice reasoning.

Whenever I don’t know what I think about something, I use this form of writing. In the hopes that my experience may clarify yours, here are some practical ways to go about it:

• All writing-to-think stems from a problem you’re wrestling with, or a problem you want to understand better. So the moment you become interested in a problem, make note of

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