As someone who studies CS/Math/Stat and spends free time doing research in machine learning, I am asked all the time why I spend time to write. The honest answer is that I don’t completely know—but like statisticians in the early 20th century, I feel like it’s time to crystallize my inchoate thoughts and lay some axiomatic foundations in writing.
Position 1: In the history of ideas, few are truly new.
In the history of ideas1, few are truly new. Stoicism Confucianism Modern Happiness Readings.2
Jonathan Lethem wrote about this in Harper’s as “the ecstasy of influence.”
Position 2: Writing isn’t simply the act of saying ideas; it generates them.
I find few things more satisfying than twistin— I’ve been a voracious reader for my entire life 1
[In some ways, I think this is why it’s good to be forced to do applications.]
Adam Davis: being inventive with your language. On the creative frontier,
He specializes in garden-path sentences
One of my favorite authors is David Foster Wallace—his prose is modern yet clean, insightful without being droll. He is also known for his famously long footnotes… ↩︎ ↩︎
When applying to most colleges, with the notable annoying exceptions of Georgetown, MIT, and some state schools, students use the Common Application: one, single ginormous form where students enumerate every salient detail an intrepid admissions officer might prod at (e.g. extracurriculars, grades, test scores, classes) as well as a single 650-word essay in response to a motley of suggested prompts. In addition to the common app essay, most schools have a bevy of “supplementals,” where 17 and 18-year olds must wax lyrical about portmanteaus, write a letter to their future roommate, or discuss the soundtrack of their life in 50-250 words. Interestingly, until recently, Harvard’s system was a bit different; applicants could only submit a single supplemental essay of any length. ↩︎