I remember sitting in my van somewhere in Montana during the spring of 2017. With a cooler full of food, water, no schedule, and a strong data connection, I felt set. Then my friend posted a link about a wizard hat.
Yeah, a wizard hat. For the next few hours I was totally absorbed in the article. Contemplating what it would be like if we did not have to speak, type, or physically input anything for it to appear online.
Hmm, a continuous stream of consciousness, visible for others to witness.
After a few minutes of using the speech to text function on my cell phone I was looking at a huge block of text. I created the #tiasoc (this is a stream of consciousness) and posted the partially incoherent ramblings to facebook. I wanted to simulate a brain machine interface with lo-fi technology. Then my phone started ringing, friends and family were calling to make sure I was okay.
I was in a flow with no editing. Well, actually, I was just rambling. But It was similar to the first lines of a drawing, a specific level of imagination.
Freewriting in a stream of consciousness is absolutely useful to develop ideas, and then polish those ideas into hypnotizing stories. The artist William Blake once wrote in a public address, "Let a Man who has made a drawing go on & on & he will produce a Picture or Painting, but if he chooses to leave it before he has spoil'd it, he will do a Better Thing." It is hard to think of a finished painting as "spoil'd" so I believe he is suggesting to save the preliminary works in their infancy. Make sketches, keep them, and then transfer those sketches to another surface.
But is freewriting merely a preliminary sketch, and only purpose to be developed further? Is it worthy to be shared with a large audience in its raw form? These questions depend on intentions, and consideration of the audience.
The folks at The Writers Block recently helped me explore some of my writing from a new perspective. I was able to refine my ideas into a polished piece because I chose to share them with editors. The writing you are reading here right now was not edited there, but hanging out in their chat room has inspired some of the ideas I am presenting.
But what about sharing freewriting in its raw form with a large audience? Like this post where @kamillejohnson shares her ideas and thoughts. I think sharing freewriting in its raw form with a large audience relates to recording, and the trajectory of recording technology.
Humanity is developing new technology to share thoughts by recording and stimulating neurons. A brain machine interface that can share streams of consciousness in realtime is being developed now. We will be able to share a virtual space with our peers--like a chat room--and receive a stream of consciousness of everyone's unedited thoughts.
What is the value of using a brain machine interface and sharing an unedited stream of consciousness with our peers? Solving complex engineering and development problems will become easier because everyone will know the ideas and concerns instantly. This technology will intrinsically ask people to let go of limiting narratives. There is also the potential to solve highly complicated interpersonal problems if we choose compassion. To love and forgive the raw unedited reality of thoughts.
.jpg)