Remember the saying, “Reading is Fundamental”? No argument here about it being a fact but why was writing not said to be the same?
In the age of AI, I think we need to rethink that.
If you see communicating information as writing’s only purpose, then AI can do that now. But that’s not the only purpose of writing, or shouldn’t be.
Writing is a verb, not a noun. An activity, not just an output.
Writing can be an extension of one’s thinking; Journaling, note taking, blogging, etc. help us clarify our thoughts, reflect, make-sense of our ideas and the ideas of others.
If we see writing as merely getting info out, the machines can do that. But if we see writing as a cognitive exercise, only humans can do that and should.
My first thoughts on the power of writing were in a post in 2013 (well before AI) and the title, “Better for Having Begun” couldn’t be a more appropriate CTA today. If reading is fundamental to you, give it a look 🙂
If this made you think, pass it along.