thread: 2013-05-18 : Anyway vs G+: complicating factors
On 2013-05-21, Rafu wrote:
Re: "but worrying about writing something worthwhile practically equals writing nothing worthwhile."
True.
That's why in the old time it used to go like this:
1. have conversations;
2. get to a worthwhile insight;
3. reformulate your new insight as an essay;
4. publish it.
In the Internet era we also got a less time-consuming (though this is arguable) alternative:
1. have conversations, which happen to be recorded in writing;
2. somebody (participant or not) gets an insight out of it;
3. the one who found it worthwhile points other people to the conversation, which now lives a second life as an essay.
This was both powerful and, at times, problematic.
This makes GcL go "Pointing at the conversation? Yuck."
I mean, I understand - I've probably done it. But pointing is not a replacement for discussion/conversation.
This makes JMW go "worked for plato.."
There is a certain extent to which all essay work is pointing, and if you structure it around implicit questions, then a recorded conversation can be in certain ways even better.
