I feel like it has become more and more difficult to be alone with my thoughts and really think. I felt this way before the 2024 election in the United States, and it has only gotten worse since then. While I would be delighted if my writing becomes something that even a few people want to read, that is not my main goal.
There are many things that I want to write about - active transportation, urbanism, and the inde-web to name a few - but it's the idea that writing creates an environment for deep thinking that attracts me the most. Obviously, I can't have a podcast running while I try to type coherent sentences. That is a huge burden off my mind. But more importantly, I think there's something to the idea that writing creates a record of my thoughts. Unlike LLMs, when humans write we are not just predicting the next most likely token. We look back at the previous ideas we had, maybe even edit them, and then use those to further the point we are making. This makes writing distinct from thinking in the shower as well, because every idea is fleeting there.
And for the topics I want to write about: they are important to me. I believe that we can live in a world that is not reliant on cars or centralized internet platforms, but it takes persuasion and well constructed arguments in order to get there. If I want to be involved in the change I want to see in the world, I must learn to articulate why these things matter. Maybe someone will read my words here, but more likely the time I spend writing will translate to more meaningful conversations with people away from the keyboard. I am not an authority on urban planning, but I am an expert in how I navigate transportation in my community, and I want to get better at communicating that.
So here I am. I managed to get past the blank screen for this post. I hope to do so for many more to come.