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The main reason I blog?

August 1, 2010

My boss once asked me what I get out of blogging.  I didn’t have a coherent answer, but since I’ve been doing it for eight years there must be something. 

The generation effect, as studied by cognitive psychologists, shows that knowledge is better retained if it is “generated” by the learner than simply read. “Generation” can be as simple as learning a spelling by “filling in the gaps” or as complex as writing a book about your studies
Alex Kessinger: Notetaking as a way to stay smart

I hadn’t thought of it this way but it could seriously be the main reason I blog.  Yes, I have various passions that I like to share, but my brain is chaotic and unreliable.  Blogging helps me get my thoughts straight.  Once I’ve put it into words, (and when I am lucky, people have commented on it), I have a much better chance of holding on to it and integrating it into my understanding of the world.

I remember a Far Side cartoon where a man stood in his yard with a brush and can of paint.  All the objects in the yard had labels: “house”, “fence”, “tree”, “dog”, and so forth.  “There!,” said the man; “that ought to clear up a few things around here!

NOTES:

  • I miss The Far Side

  • h/t Lucas for the link
  • My brain actually IS unreliable.  Not surprising when you tote up spinal meningitis in childhood, and multiple concussion syndrome.  Took me a while and a few visits to a neurologist to add this all up; it’s analogous to fighting senility.
Categories: Uncategorized
  1. August 1, 2010 at 16:13 | #1

    D K Zody, recently retired high school teacher, recently wrote a post similar to this one

    Living One’s Life Online
    within that post is a link to a fellow blogger, and the connections made

  2. August 2, 2010 at 19:19 | #2

    Blogging is a way for me to check on what it is I know and don’t. Strange, but true – if I don’t try to explain something, it’s likely I won’t realize what it is I still don’t know about a subject, or even if I realize it will be something I just hadn’t gotten around to learning about.

    It’s also good to be able to go back and look at how I felt about an issue a couple of years ago, and how I feel about it now. Sometimes, I find my opinion wasn’t what I thought it was a couple of years ago.

    No brain is completely reliable. Even if no one read my blog, which is pretty close to how many actually read it, it would still be interesting for that reason.

    BTW, take of the old noggin, George. Multiple concussion syndrome can be bad.

  3. August 3, 2010 at 07:34 | #3

    Thanks Cujo.  And I bet you have more readers than you realize.  RSS feeds get forwarded a lot. 

    I wear a helmet now of course.  But the bigger problem is keeping the damn thing working.  By relentless effort my coordination has returned but I struggle with concentration and memory.

  4. gruntled atheist
    August 3, 2010 at 18:17 | #4

    Blogging helps me get my thoughts straight.

    That is the best reason to blog.  It is amazing how much writing enhances thinking.

  5. August 4, 2010 at 01:28 | #5

    I don’t care why you blog—the important thing is that you blog because I find you thought provoking!!!!

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