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Write what you don't know

Published Jan 12 2020

I’m here winding down the day and I have just opened the “Tools of Titans” book by Tim Ferris.

This book is very cool - a collection of insights, quotes and great advice from a lot of very successful people.

Sometimes the advice is practical, sometimes it’s great advice to follow, sometimes it’s inspiring.

I read through some pages filled with highlights, to get a daily fix of wisdom. Then I open a random page I haven’t read yet and I find this.

What’s the worst advice you hear often? “Write what you know”. Why would I want to write about what little I know? Don’t I want to use writing to learn more?

This is just amazing.

I think I should have come up with this phrase. Like long ago, but somehow we don’t often think deeply about the things we do every day, right?

So let me tell you this. In the context of this little blog, in this little tech/programming niche I talk about, all my blogging has always been about learning, not talking about things I already know.

Since the early days: the whole reason this blog exists in its current form is that I started documenting my steps into learning Go, back in 2017.

Sometimes I discover something, and right away I write it before I forget about it. I leave a trace. Maybe one month from now I need to do the same thing and I’ll find my own post. If I remember I wrote about that thing, that is.

Sometimes I just go through one of the gazillion topics in my notes and write about it. I read all I can about it, and write my own take on the topic.

The things I enjoy writing about the most is things I am personally interested in. I think I never wrote about a topic I find boring. I have no obligations to pick a boring topic when I can choose a cool one.

There’s a chance your own writing will help someone that is struggling to learn things.

Now I often write for other people to enjoy the content, too, as I’m so lucky to have this blog being read by some people, so I strive to create something useful.

Sometimes when I write about a topic I become a temporary expert on the subject, because in order to write about something, I read a lot about it.

I think my memory is a LIFO (Last In First Out) memory, and I might forget the thing I am learning today, maybe next month, who knows?

But I don’t care, as I have it written down in case I need it in the future.