On The Importance of Documentation.
In the last few months, I have found myself writing a lot of documentation for Blue (https://documentation.blue.cc) and a UNDP data project with a very comprehensive methodology.
I used to have a laissez-faire attitude towards documentation, believing it was a task reserved for incredibly pedantic people. I prided myself on my ability to keep everything in my head, convinced that I did not need to rely on written records. I thought that my memory alone would suffice, and documenting every detail was unnecessary and time-consuming.
Well, it is said that part of growing up is being able to look back on your previous opinions and laugh, which is one of those occasions for me!
I deal at a scale now where memory alone can’t help me — I need to write things down; otherwise, the information is lost. This is not because I am stupid — quite the opposite. I am intelligent and humble enough to understand that writing down serves as a memory aid and sharpens the thinking process.
The faintest ink is more powerful than the strongest memory.
It is an ancient Chinese proverb highlighting the value of documentation and taking notes.
Writing is not just a means of communication but a powerful tool for thinking and learning. I’ve said this before and believe it even more strongly now. Because when you write, you are forced to take your thoughts, which sometimes are not quite logically structured but more ephemeral and emotional, and make them concrete. Writing forces us to organize our thoughts, coherently present them, and identify gaps in our understanding or reasoning. This is quite amazing if we think about it. We’re taking a bunch of electrical signals in your brain and the various synaptic connections and turning them into a clear and logical format that anyone else can access, review, criticize, and improve.
If that’s not magic, I don’t know what is.
