An interview. I strongly agree with this advice:
…cultivate your ability to write, to express yourself with brevity and clarity. Writing is important not only for explaining your research, but also for applying for grants and jobs. People who write well, with an engaging voice and correct spelling and grammar, make a positive first impression, giving them a leg up over their competition. My advisor at Brown made all his students submit abstracts to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. The struggle to write those abstracts helped us identify holes in our knowledge or in the completeness of our work; presenting our work in posters or talks gave us poise and confidence in intimidating situations. So keep a journal, or start a blog. Just write.
I also find that writing forces you to think about what you’re saying much more than just talking about it.
>>…cultivate your ability to write
.. and you left a typo in her name 🙂
Writing forces you to organize your thoughts into a coherent structure. It is evident that what seems coherent in the mind is often not, and you will discover logical gaps in your thoughts if you try to write them out. If your thoughts are consistent, then writing will help you refine them and obtain a deeper understanding of what you actually think.
It was in the middle of that project that it suddenly occurred to me to wonder whether anybody studied the geology of places like Io and Europa.
That’s an excellent illustration of how far we have already come. When I was a kid Io and Europa were just little points of light in a telescope, not “places”.
Voice is hard to sustain, especially if you are writing in a voice that isn’t your natural personality.
Back in school, it was always transition sentences between paragraphs that would make or break a paper.
Rand’s spellcheck doesn’t know Lakdawalla yet, but it will
I spelled it phonetically…
I also find that writing forces you to think about what you’re saying much more than just talking about it.
I find that having to counter online liars, shills and morons also helps.