# Writing as a thinking tool

> Writing turns your mind into a turing machine.
- Title: Writing as a thinking tool · Blogspot | Shortify
- Summary: Writing turns your mind into a turing machine. Writing externalizes thought to solve problems beyond what the brain can handle alone.
- Keywords: writing, turing machine, finite automata, llm, external memory, freewriting, research papers, Blogspot
- Source: Blogspot — https://muratbuffalo.blogspot.com/2026/11/writing-as-thinking-tool.html
- Published: 2026-11-07T08:22:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: writing, turing machine, finite automata, llm, external memory, freewriting, research papers, technology, startups
## Early struggles with reading
In middle school I could not get through long passages no matter how hard I tried.
## Mind maps in the 1980s
This was the late 80s, and Tony Buzan's mind maps had just reached Turkey.
## Notes as thinking tools
I started taking notes out of desperation to make sense of what I was reading.
## The finite automaton insight
You are all computer scientists. You know what FINITE AUTOMATA can do.

> You are all computer scientists. You know what FINITE AUTOMATA can do
## Turing machines and thinking
Turing machines can compute any computable function.
## Writing as external memory
Without writing, you are reduced to a finite automaton.

> Without writing, you are reduced to a finite automaton
## Out-of-core execution
When we write, we are externalizing our thinking onto paper.
## Reviewing papers
I read a paper, thought I understood it, then wrote a review to understand it fully.
## Freewriting discoveries
In 2018, I wrote about Paxos and Nakamoto consensus connections.
## Writing as memory
I refer back to my blog constantly because writing re-fires the same neurons.
## LLMs and writing
LLMs know literature but not your half-formed intuition about why standard framing may be wrong.
## Rule 1: Mess up
The first rule of writing club is to produce in bulk with no restraints at all.
## Rule 2: Tidy up
Now you must become the critic, the editor. Forget that you wrote this.
## Rule 3: Keep it simple
Strunk and White got it right, and their writing still reads fresh decades later.
## Rule 4: Write without expectations
Write for yourself. The audience I have in mind is me.
## Rule 5: Schedule writing
Put writing on the schedule to keep it in a writing frame of mind.
## Key takeaway

Writing externalizes thought to solve problems beyond what the brain can handle alone.