.@paulg's quote is a good prompt for your agent to make anyone's writing more concise
"strive to make my writing unsummarizable, in the sense that it has so little fluff left in it that if you take any words out, as summaries by definition do, you lose a lot of interesting ideas"
i've been testing voice dictation, which then runs through this prompt, for messages to colleagues
The most frequent feedback I get (especially at @coinbase) is that I could be more concise, or "Can you make this into a bullet point?"
My usual defense was that I'm not trying to transfer information. I'm trying to infect people with a way of thinking or an idea. The bullet gives you the conclusion without the path, and the path is what changes how you see the next ten problems.
And while I agree with my defense, it can also be an excuse. I kept trying to be more concise, but I didn't have a good forcing function for it, because "the idea needs room" justifies any length.
This tweet from @paulg last week really stuck with me. I think about it every time I write now. (my agents too)
P.S. This could probably be summarized better.
















