Doctorows Memex Method

This morning, I found Cory Doctorow’s post on the Memex method that discusses the importance of blogging. His ideas resonated with me, making me actively think about why I write, how I organize my thoughts, and the power of information synthesis..

Docotorow’s rejection of blogging to “brand build” struck a chord. I don’t write, or blog, to build a brand. I write because I like to write. I don’t earn a living from my writing like Doctorow does, but I like sharpening my thoughts and writing is the best way I’ve found to do that. I also like sharing my thoughts with others. The act of writing is rewarding enough on its own.

I also liked the discussion of the digital “Commonplace Book.” I’ve kept several notebooks for decades, and they’re an invaluable treasure. My main regret is that they’re fragmented: some are physical , some are text files living somewhere on my computer or cloud storage some place, and, lately they’re scattered between Obsidian and Apple Notes.

Notebooks provide immense personal value, and I like that Doctorow’s site is set up a lot like my personal journal with links to content produced on the same date, 1, 3, 5, 10, or more years ago.

One of the best changes I made to my journaling was to create 366 notes, one for each day of the year, and then add my daily notes under a new heading for the current year. This way, it’s trivial to look back at what I was thinking about in years past and synthesize it with my current experience.

The most impactful part of this essay was the discussion of critical synthesis of information. Of pulling together disparate ideas and facts and distilling them into something new. This is human pattern matching, and it’s exhilarating: it makes my writing feel uniquely personal and it’s one of the most rewarding things I do.

I don’t have many regrets, but I do often find myself wondering what I’m getting out of the time I spend reading news and social media. I tell myself it’s important to be informed of current events, but I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to catch myself doom scrolling with my brain on autopilot. I know I’m not alone in this, but I also know that I can do better with some effort. The effort of writing, which synthesizes the information I consume, seems to me to be the best way to turn a regret into an accomplishment.

So my takeaway from Docotorow’s essay today is to write more. Write more even when I don’t feel like it. Write more even when I know that nobody but me will gain value from it. Just write more.