Ideas Matter

A writing fellowship for scientists and builders. Learn to tell stories that grow ideas.

An initiative from @Pillar_VC, @NikoMcCarty & @HomeworldBio.

[Ideas Matter @IdeasFellows]

Many kids grow up romanticizing physics because they see rockets launch into the sky and tune into TV shows aplenty featuring Sagan or Tyson.

Why isn't the same true for biology?

A short essay by Dan Voicu.

https://t.co/61RSK3DkTL

[Ideas Matter @IdeasFellows]

Placebos have a somewhat unfortunate reputation.

But recently, the placebo effect has had a reputational makeover. Placebos can produce measurable physiological changes that are clinically helpful. Could they be a treatment in their own right?

Read: https://t.co/8NuDGHdFPD

[Ideas Matter @IdeasFellows]

Our latest essay:

Kat Baney writes about DNA synthesis, a technology that can be used to do good or bad. Such dual-use tools require a new type of archetype, Kat writes; not "wizards" or "prophets," but something in-between.

Read it online:
https://t.co/z0Mtn8TRA6

[Ideas Matter @IdeasFellows]

Our latest essay from the writing fellowship!

@ChenMaggieSY reflects on the meaning of medicine and cellular rejuvenation during a visit to see her family after six years away.

Read it on the Ideas Matter website:
https://t.co/ftAqzRNdUy

[Ideas Matter @IdeasFellows]

The second essay from Cohort One of the Ideas Matter fellowship is now life.

"Gut Bacteria on Steroids," by Stephen Skolnick.

Read it here: https://t.co/GeKLAo5ppe

[Ideas Matter @IdeasFellows]

Our first writing fellowship has ended.

Starting today, we will release essays written by the fellows at a cadence of one or two each week.

First up: A short, personal essay by @StorkDevon, called "When to Give Up."

https://t.co/yrIrM1w2Kl

[Sofia Sanchez @SofiasBio]

It's Day 1 @IdeasFellows! Over the next 8 weeks, 13 incredible people and I will be learning from writing pros on how to find, sculpt and share transformative ideas about biology.

The best part? Sharing what I learn with you all to grow ideas together! 🔽
https://t.co/xNWTfw15rG

[Ideas Matter @IdeasFellows]

The Ideas Matter fellowship started yesterday.

14 fellows will together write 28 essays about biology.

We're excited to share them with you.

[Niko McCarty. @NikoMcCarty]

More people should start a blog.

Writing on the internet is the most important thing I've done for my career. A well-written article is like a beacon that attracts like-minded thinkers.

Here are 18 of my favorite articles about why you should write & how to do it...

WHY YOU SHOULD WRITE
#1. "You should write because when you know that you’re going to write, it changes the way you live." James Somers https://t.co/8B9u53AH1N

#2. "I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing." George Orwell https://t.co/iaoJmNAAEV

#3. "In many ways writing is the act of saying I, of imposing oneself upon other people, of saying listen to me, see it my way, change your mind." Joan Didion https://t.co/cuVKrXpND0

#4. "Writing helps you think better." Alexey Guzey https://t.co/ePxH6du6cT

#5. "Writing about something, even something you know well, usually shows you that you didn't know it as well as you thought." Paul Graham https://t.co/6sWXlRfB2U

#6. "Write to learn" and "write because you need to write." Noah Smith https://t.co/y6Qf8K93uK

HOW TO WRITE
#7. "Write a bad version 1 as fast as you can; rewrite it over and over; cut everything unnecessary...." Paul Graham (Probably the most impactful writing advice ever on a per-word basis.) https://t.co/fXTHWsvL44

#8. "Every article has thrust and drag. The thrust of a piece is what motivates readers to invest the energy necessary to extract its meaning. It is the reason they click. Drag is everything that makes the reader’s task harder, such as meandering intros, convoluted sentences, abstruse locution and even little things like a missing Oxford comma." Nathan Baschez https://t.co/tS2LDq86pN

#9. "Write like you talk." Paul Graham https://t.co/Wd7KhtHnzC

#10. "We are supposed to be—are required to be—interesting. We’re not only allowed to think about audience, we’d better. What we’re doing in writing is not all that different from what we’ve been doing all our lives, i.e., using our personalities as a way of coping with life. Writing is about charm, about finding and accessing and honing ones’ particular charms." George Saunders https://t.co/RwD8y2UcIs

#11. "Write simply." Paul Graham https://t.co/Gs4H0l2fK1

#12. "When you sit down to write, there is only one important person in your life. This is someone you will never meet, called a reader. You are not writing to impress the scientist you have just interviewed, nor the professor who got you through your degree, nor the editor who foolishly turned you down, or the rather dishy person you just met at a party and told you were a writer. Or even your mother. You are writing to impress someone hanging from a strap in the tube between Parson's Green and Putney, who will stop reading in a fifth of a second, given a chance." Tim Radford https://t.co/rroYY9KA3n

#13. "Divide things into small chunks," "use microhumor," "use concrete examples." Scott Alexander https://t.co/X59M4fh69P

#14. "How people can think about their writing without thinking about readers is probably the biggest challenge you face. You've been trained to think about writing formally...you have to stop...you have to think about readers." Larry McEnerney https://t.co/sWLqKv4v6j

#15. "How to write on the internet & keep doing it." Niko McCarty (self-referential, I know). https://t.co/ZIvSOutiQr

MISC.
#16. "Why You Should Stop Caring What Other People Think." Tim Urban https://t.co/KdQqpecvC5

#17. What it's like to actually be a blogger, for 15 years no less! Freddie deBoer https://t.co/DZJbRmnvPm

#18. "I do these things because I want to be tormented and challenged and interested. I want to build things, and then break them." The Oatmeal https://t.co/FeHypVi0M5

I wrote this post because @IdeasFellows began yesterday, and so writing is top of mind. I want more scientists (especially) to write and bring good ideas into the world.

Which articles did I miss?

Thanks to @paulg @alexeyguzey @slatestarcodex @Noahpinion and others for sharing their advice.

[Vega Shah @dr_alphalyrae]

Super exciting to see this cohort of 14 writers from @IdeasFellows. I genuinely believe that one of the ways to garner global talent for life sciences problems is through good storytelling.

[Tony Kulesa @kulesatony]

After we announced Ideas Matter, 500+ applications poured in from all over the world.

Now announcing our first cohort -- 14 fellows from 6 different countries!

Stay tuned... Big ideas about biology coming soon.

[Homeworld Collective @HomeworldBio]

Writing is manifesting.
This year we've seen incredible progress in the bio/writers ecosystem, and these fellows are exemplars of this growing space.
The brightest futures of biology will be discovered and unlocked by empowered, independent voices.

[Erika Alden DeBenedictis @erika_alden_d]

Science today suffers from jargon snobbery. The harder to understand you are, the smarter you must be!

Let's reverse the trend. Write like you actually want to communicate. 🗣️📢

Can't wait to read more from all of you!

[Ideas Matter @IdeasFellows]

Announcing the inaugural Ideas Matter cohort!

Our 14 fellows represent 6 different countries and will spend 8 weeks writing about big ideas in biology.

Their work spans everything from animal welfare to synthetic biology and biodefense.

Learn more: https://t.co/6omRvzvRIV