My antidote to mind-numbing content: the humble essay

So, I'm learning how to write essays again.

It's such a refreshing change from the average post: you get tight reasoning, clear evidence. No vague "people say," "most sources indicate," or the constant "ackchyually" that makes your eyes roll. I could enjoy the peace of mind knowing the author put in the effort to research properly, and at minimum, didn't disrespect the reader (read this excellent article: Using Evidence to Support your Argument | Newcastle University).

But there’s a reason few people bother with proper essays. Personally, essay writing was the bane of my university existence. It felt pointless, a waste of time on something slow and obsolete. Years later, when ChatGPT and its kin showed up, I was thrilled – felt like I’d resolved a childhood trauma. Essay writing was history, right? RIGHT?

Wrong!

The mountains of mind-numbing content I stumble upon daily. Copies of copies, layers of superficiality.

I told myself: that's just how things are now, complaining makes me the old man yelling at clouds. I even had some ideas for my own writing direction, but random stray thoughts can only go so far. No further development means I was settling for mediocrity...

But then, sometimes, like tonight, I read a new post from Dang Nhat Minh (PhD in Advanced Materials, original post in 🌐 Vietnamese). Ah, crisp content that respects the reader, right there. So I spent some time dissecting Minh's post, savoring it. He literally has his own XRF gun to inspect fake silver 🤯. Sweet sweet scientific evidence. The Iron-Man-like cathartic resolution. And I realized: I'm starving for this kind of content, and I bet many others are too.

More: my recent goal has been to "share ALL my knowledge online", but the process has been tough. I realized I can write fine for myself, but writing so others understand and apply it? That's incredibly hard... But wait, isn't there some skill I've been putting off learning that's causing this exact problem????

So, here I am, learning how to write essays again. Facing that childhood trauma. It feels like gently sitting down and patting the head of that resentful 16-year-old kid still inside me.

Hopefully, this process of extracting knowledge from the inside out will go smoothly 🤓.

For you, a very cool video I found on writing essay: How to write a good essay | Youtube