Writing in Public

I’ve been writing privately for years. Notebooks, half-finished documents, long replies to people I never sent. The volume is embarrassing and the audience is one.

The problem with private writing is that it never has to be finished. You can leave an argument three-quarters built, because the only person who has to be convinced already agrees with you. Publishing changes the incentive. Not because strangers are harsh, but because the possibility of a reader forces you to close the gaps you’d otherwise let sit.

So this is the experiment: take the best of what’s already written, finish it properly, and put it where someone might argue with it.

What this isn’t

It isn’t a bid for an audience, at least not yet. If three people read this and one of them pushes back on the argument, that’s a better outcome than three hundred silent visits.

It also isn’t a promise of a schedule. The fastest way to stop writing is to turn it into an obligation you can fail at.

What to expect

Essays on consciousness and the philosophy of mind. Notes on energy — grids, markets, virtual power plants, and the surprisingly deep coordination problems underneath them. Occasionally the two will turn out to be the same piece.

If you want to follow along, there’s an RSS feed. If you want to disagree, my email is on the about page.