I'm a devoted reader of The Economist and I especially enjoy the letters-to-the editor page. Honestly, the folks who make it to the magazine are often more insightful than the magazine's staff. Here's a sample from the latest issue, by a Princeton University Post-doctoral fellow, named Michael Bunsick. And yes, he's a real person as I found his linked-in account! "Those who outsource the writing of papers to LLMs forget a crucial fact. In science, writing and thinking are intimately connected. The writing process provides the creative space for new ideas and interpretations to emerge, change shape, and in some cases die. Only by putting pen to paper can scientists fully flesh out arguments, detect logical errors, and discover new lines of research. Antoine Lavoisier, an 18th century French chemist, wrote that "We think only through the medium of words. Languages are true analytical methods. " I certain that the writing process improves one's thinking in every domain, not just science. I have long felt that the DBIS message board provides us all with opportunities to think better, to think deeper, and to better communicate our thoughts. What a gift you have given us, Dan! David's many years of researching and writing The Fire Agent undoubtedly took him to areas that he could not have imagined when first he embarked upon his mission. I have listened to several interviews in which he discusses the lengthy process and he no doubt emerged a different person for having had the experience. I can't wait to dig into the novel and I hope we can have a communal book club here. Peter T.
Writing and Thinking and Better Writing and Better Thinking (a virtuous cycle)
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I'm a devoted reader of The Economist and I especially enjoy the letters-to-the editor page. Honestly, the folks who make it to the magazine are often more insightful than the magazine's staff. Here's a sample from the latest issue, by a Princeton University Post-doctoral fellow, named Michael Bunsick. And yes, he's a real person as I found his linked-in account! "Those who outsource the writing of papers to LLMs forget a crucial fact. In science, writing and thinking are intimately connected. The writing process provides the creative space for new ideas and interpretations to emerge, change shape, and in some cases die. Only by putting pen to paper can scientists fully flesh out arguments, detect logical errors, and discover new lines of research. Antoine Lavoisier, an 18th century French chemist, wrote that "We think only through the medium of words. Languages are true analytical methods. " I certain that the writing process improves one's thinking in every domain, not just science. I have long felt that the DBIS message board provides us all with opportunities to think better, to think deeper, and to better communicate our thoughts. What a gift you have given us, Dan! David's many years of researching and writing The Fire Agent undoubtedly took him to areas that he could not have imagined when first he embarked upon his mission. I have listened to several interviews in which he discusses the lengthy process and he no doubt emerged a different person for having had the experience. I can't wait to dig into the novel and I hope we can have a communal book club here. Peter T.
