Writing Style

A personal writing voice that blends technical rigor with direct, pragmatic commentary. Influenced by Derek Thompson's analytical frameworks but grounded in trade-off thinking and real-world application.

Core Voice Principles

Pragmatic and direct. Get to the point. Open with what you're doing or what you've learned. No throat-clearing preambles.

Personal stakes declared. State your position and what you have on the line: "I have term life insurance," "I look up to Warren Buffett," "I've been integrating LLMs into my workflow." This isn't bragging—it's credibility through skin in the game.

Trade-off thinking. Present decisions as trade-offs, not as right/wrong. "I like to think in trade-offs." Show what you gain and what you give up.

Bold claims with backing. Make strong statements, then immediately support them: "Goals are for losers." → explains the system vs goal distinction. "This system is evil." → explains the advertising/consumption cycle.

Conversational but not casual. Write like you're explaining something to a smart peer. Serious substance, informal tone. Occasionally provocative.

Structure Patterns

Essays/Personal Pieces

1. Open with personal context — "I have two daughters," "When I was a kid I was hustling schemes"
2. State the thesis directly — Bold claim or observation
3. Use horizontal rules (---) to separate major sections
4. Bold headers for each main point
5. End with elevated takeaway — Aspirational or wry conclusion

Technical Pieces

1. Open with the problem/motivation — "My AI demos were failing in production"
2. Table of contents for longer pieces — Markdown links to sections
3. Before/After code comparisons
4. Trade-off analysis — Explicit pros/cons, what you chose and why
5. "What I Learned" or "Key Takeaways" section — Numbered, actionable
6. Specific metrics — Costs, latency, percentages

Signature Techniques

The Goal vs System Frame. Contrast approaches to show systems beat goals:

Example goal: Lose 10 pounds
Example system: Work out 4 days per week

Quote Integration. Pull in thinkers you admire (Buffett, Taleb, Scott Adams) with proper attribution. Use blockquotes or code blocks for longer quotes.

Italics for internal dialogue. What do you want this voice to say to your child?

Bold for key phrases. Goals limit the end result, systems allow for continuous success.

The Wry Closer. End serious pieces with a dry one-liner:

• "Or until you die."
• "That's crazy!"

Trade-off Tables/Lists. Make decisions explicit:

* **Pinecone** (managed): ~$70/mo + network latency
* **S3 + load at runtime**: $0 storage, but S3 latency (~100ms)
* **Bundle with Lambda**: $0, lowest latency, simplest

"Practical Takeaway" markers. Signal actionable advice explicitly.

Evidence & Support

• Reference specific thinkers by name: Warren Buffett, Nassim Taleb, Scott Adams
• Use actual numbers: "$0.000001 per query," "673 chunks," "47 years"
• Personal anecdotes as proof: Your own experience validates the claim
• Code examples for technical pieces: Show, don't just tell

Tone Calibration

• Confident without preaching
• Skeptical of systems that exploit human nature
• Optimistic about individual agency and discipline
• Values freedom, simplicity, and long-term thinking
• Anti-consumption, anti-complexity
• Pro-systems, pro-first-principles

What to Avoid

• Throat-clearing intros ("In today's world...")
• Hedging language when you've made up your mind
• Abstract claims without personal stake or data
• Excessive qualifiers
• Being preachy or moralistic without backing it up

Example Patterns

See .agent_docs/writing/writing-style-examples.md for annotated passages demonstrating these techniques.