It has been a long time since I published anything on my blog. Allow me to list the reasons (all of which can collectively be called writer’s block) here, in this back-to-the-blog post.
The first reason is that the relevance of the blogging format itself has transformed over the last decade. People are not as into blogs anymore. Their media consumption patterns have changed over time. They listen to podcasts, binge on streaming services, and skim through microblogs on social media. My long-form blog posts, therefore, seemed a bit pointless. To be honest, though, this first reason is just an excuse: the blogger’s block came first.
Speaking of excuses, another one is the advent of ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs), which have made writers of us all. A friend of mine shared that he had an idea for a science fiction novel and that, with LLMs, he could effectively get the writing done for him—all he needed was a really good storyline. This is indeed true but with some caveats. The first is that LLM-generated language, though accurate, is often bland. It usually lacks the personality and flavor of an author’s unique style. Besides, when everyone can generate volumes of text using LLMs, the value of the written word diminishes. The art and skill of writing erodes, much like our arithmetic skills have with the advent of calculators.
Both these observations about LLM limitations are undoubtedly steeped in the immense human chauvinism we still carry—but more on that in a future post. In any case, I plan to limit my use of LLMs in my blogs to proofreading (where accuracy is paramount) rather than copyediting (which may alter my style and, dare I say, creativity). I may also occasionally use ChatGPT for fact-checking or gathering figures.
Now that I have come clean about the excuses, let me move on to the reasons. The main one is the paucity of time. Time seems to run faster as I age. Days, weeks, and years fly by in a blur, leaving little to show for their passage. At the same time, the necessity of sharing my thoughts and ideas—the need to be known, as Meryl Streep’s character said in The Bridges of Madison County—becomes sharper. These blog posts that I write (or rather, type) are, perhaps, best seen as my attempts to be known, to be remembered, to leave some part of myself behind. And the reason for not blogging consistently is the lack of time.
Why does time run faster as we age? Well, an unpleasant aspect of old age is the slowing of the brain. The slowness of thought and the paucity of time are likely connected. When we move slowly, we always run out of time, don’t we? Additionally, the difficulties of old age affect how we assimilate new information, which is why older folks are notoriously and comically out of touch with technology.
As luck would have it, I am supposed to be at the bleeding edge of technology for my work—I am a professor of computer science, after all. This is probably a good thing. Just as the human body responds well to strength training by building muscle, our brains may also strengthen as we push them, learning and mastering new topics so thoroughly that we can teach them. It helps enormously that I enjoy both aspects—absorbing knowledge and propagating it. But it takes up a significant amount of time, perhaps more than it did in my younger days when I was wide-eyed and smooth-skinned, with a brain so precisely attuned to STEM topics that it lacked almost all people skills and emotional intelligence. The decelerating brain, therefore, did contribute to my break from blogging.
Another factor in this break was certain personal notions and goals I set for myself over the past few years of solitude. As they are deeply personal, I don’t want to lay them bare here, despite the aforementioned need to be known. However, I am considering sharing them in the form of a fictionalized biography. This, of course, is a tall order, and the idea was planted in my mind by an old friend. You see, if and when this misadventure fails, I already have a fall guy!
