I have to have a blog.

Up to now, I have writen to think. This preamble started as that kind of writing. As a way for me to self-explain why have a blog and narrow down what to write in it. I also need to practice writing to communicate with others. This blog is where I will do that.

When I write to think, I write for myself. I have dozens of text files of such writings. Writing like this is a lot like taking dictation from my inner speech; from the imagined sounds of words.
However when I am thinking something only by imagining myself speak, I am forced to focus continiously on the thought. One distraction and it all will vanish until I focus again; the whole thought process is rather fleeting.

But when I write it down, I can come back to those thoughts later, sometimes even years later and continue thinking it. In this sense writing is a form of working memory. In general writing is also, quite often, an extended memory.

The main difference is the intention behind the writing, or the intended audience. When I write to think, the writing is sometimes personal, incomplete, or even wrong and confused and that is allright. But when I write something which I intend to publish publically over the internet the stakes are much higher. This blog exists to raise the stakes.