Pure
human thought cannot be represented by anything
mankind has yet invented or discovered. Its complex processes are so otherworldly that we must be careful in their translations to
word. The left side of our brain, responsible for logical thinking, can best be represented by the laws of
mathematics and
computer programming. The right side possesses the
creativity inherent in all of
mankind, and it is from this side that
poetry comes. Poetic at times,
literature can also contain
logic and
reason. Due to this great care must be taken when
writing, because both sides of the
brain combine to undertake a task.
Critical thinking combines the two realms of thought and remains absolutely necessary in the
writing process.
F. Brooks said that "the
programmer, like the
poet, works only slightly removed from pure
thought-stuff." Looking at the extreme form a
paper can assume is to examine the poetry-code relationship. A verbose
paper which communicates nothing is the polar opposite of a
tool which uses no verbal tools but contains all the necessary facts. The optimal
paper or literary work utilizes a delicate balance of presentation and content with neither too much nor too little of both.
Poetry, the
soul dried on paper, presents
emotions in raw form and the notes of someone's thoughts as they come to them. Emotional and creative human thoughts are not refined by definition, and only with years of converting thoughts into words is a person able to skip intermediate steps and simply furnish a paper with finished words.
The same can be said with the other side of writing. Not employed to describe the human writing process,
computer programming is useful as it allows humans to think in a language of
pure meaning. Each
symbol and
keyword has an exact meaning, universal and defined. In
poetry each word can adopt many meanings, and an extensive search of the context must be made to derive significance. While
computer code remains the same to any reader,
poetry redefines itself to each individual.
Writing is the combination of both thought types, and its goal is to produce a literary work that conveys meaning and content to the reader. The writing process cannot be done in one sitting; it is not the primary outpouring of an idea that the
author had in his head. Human thoughts are fleeting and not always caught the first time around.
Writing can be a tortuous experience to someone who does not embrace its process well. To combine the logic and creativity of one human thought into the limited tapestry that is language requires skill and patience.
Critical thinking, or the analysis of concepts and what they represent, is the key to conveying unique
human ideas.