📋 Changes in this PR: The following chapters have been modified: 20.   Resources, 13.   Unix, coding-style, 4.   Reproducibility, 15.   Code Publication, continuous-integration, 19.   Checklists, appendix-document-metadata, 16.   Data Publication, 6.   R Coding Practices, 17.   High-performance computing (HPC), 3.   Communication and coordination, 2.   Culture and conduct, appendix-copilot-instructions, appendix-copilot-setup-steps, 5.   Code repositories, 18.   Working with AI, references, 21.   Professional Development, data-masking, 22.   Writing, github, big-data, quarto, 14.   Reproducible Environments, 23.   Manuscript Preparation and Publication
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22  Writing

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22.1 Writing to Clarify Your Thinking

Writing is a powerful tool for clarifying your thoughts, even before you start searching for answers. When questions or ideas come up, it’s good practice to write them down immediately—this helps you:

  • Organize your thoughts and identify what you actually need to know
  • Articulate the problem more precisely
  • Often realize the answer yourself through the process of writing

As Leslie Lamport, a Turing Award winner and computer scientist, states: “If you think you understand something, and don’t write down your ideas, you only think you’re thinking” (Lamport 2019).