Reflection
What to write and the question of voice
Human Flourishing Communication Writing Literature Education Psychology Creativity
I’ve heard it said, “Write the book that you would wish to read.” Of those books that have meant a lot to me, the first that comes to mind is Indiscrete Thoughts by Gian-Carlo Rota. I liked the connections with phenomenology and his belief that mathematical writing should not need to be “decoded.” The world needs more expositors. Another example would be Jonathan Marks’ Why I Am Not a Scientist: Anthropology and Modern Knowledge. What I see in both of these books is a person, not so different than myself, who is writing frankly from a personal perspective–that includes their professional identities–to make clarifications or commentary on the world. They are not stepping outside of themselves as they communicate through their writing. They are standing on their mathematical/scientific chops, but expressing skepticism or ambivalence about their relationship (and the truth’s relationship) to the scientific or mathematical outlook.
2021 January 31