Ask the Author: Tom Chatfield
Answered Questions (6)
Tom Chatfield
As so often, I found frustration a powerful source of inspiration. There seemed to be a great lack in most of the books I encountered around critical thinking (the topic of the book I'm working on) that I want to redress - a lack around technology and its mediation of so much that we do in the world. I can't promise to offer a perfect solution to this lack, but the act of trying seems important enough to drive me on!
Tom Chatfield
I loved reading, I loved words. I loved what great authors could do with words - building worlds, changing my world. From as young as I can remember, it seemed obvious. T
o work with words was to be a part of something that mattered - and that was wonderful, mind-expanding, important, beautiful. And a great deal of fun. Always that, too - the bottomless pleasure of it, the possibilities and permutations without end, the stories waiting to be told and re-told.
o work with words was to be a part of something that mattered - and that was wonderful, mind-expanding, important, beautiful. And a great deal of fun. Always that, too - the bottomless pleasure of it, the possibilities and permutations without end, the stories waiting to be told and re-told.
Tom Chatfield
I'm writing my first textbook, on a subject I'm passionate about: critical thinking in a digital age.
Traditional critical thinking focuses on arguments and logic, and being able to tell apart good reasoning from bad reasoning. This is still extremely important; but I want to expand this kind of critical engagement towards the technologies we now use almost every time we begin to explore the world of ideas, information, opinions and evidence.
What does it mean to be a critically-engaged user of technology, more confidently able to explore and critique the information it puts in front of you - and more aware of biases, from filter bubbles to network effects, that can mould our view of the world without us being aware?
Hopefully, my book will help equip students and others with some of the tools they need to do this more confidently, and feel more in control of their intellectual lives in the 21st century.
Traditional critical thinking focuses on arguments and logic, and being able to tell apart good reasoning from bad reasoning. This is still extremely important; but I want to expand this kind of critical engagement towards the technologies we now use almost every time we begin to explore the world of ideas, information, opinions and evidence.
What does it mean to be a critically-engaged user of technology, more confidently able to explore and critique the information it puts in front of you - and more aware of biases, from filter bubbles to network effects, that can mould our view of the world without us being aware?
Hopefully, my book will help equip students and others with some of the tools they need to do this more confidently, and feel more in control of their intellectual lives in the 21st century.
Tom Chatfield
Coffee. Reading widely, off the topic I'm writing about, new and old; diving into others' words to excite me, challenge me, take me out of myself.
Walking and running: moving through the world. Playing the piano.
Taking my own words offscreen, into a printout and notebook, and trying to re-encounter them like a reader myself, with pen in hand.
Taking a deep breath, and reminding myself how lucky I am to be able to write for a living.
More coffee, probably sat in our local Costa (the only coffee shop in town), watching the world.
Dealing with two screaming young children and thinking that a free half hour is far too precious for me to even think about getting blocked.
Walking and running: moving through the world. Playing the piano.
Taking my own words offscreen, into a printout and notebook, and trying to re-encounter them like a reader myself, with pen in hand.
Taking a deep breath, and reminding myself how lucky I am to be able to write for a living.
More coffee, probably sat in our local Costa (the only coffee shop in town), watching the world.
Dealing with two screaming young children and thinking that a free half hour is far too precious for me to even think about getting blocked.
Tom Chatfield
Having readers. We write in order to be read: to communicate, to test the limits of our communication. It's not necessarily about having as many readers as possible; but being able to find an audience for words and ideas is a huge thrill and opportunity. Without an audience, you're just talking to yourself.
Tom Chatfield
What's the only thing every successful writer has in common? They manage to get the work done: they find a way to live and to write.
This is the key, I think. One way or another, if you're serious about writing, you need to find a way to live that also allows you to write - and this means being honest about what (and who!) inspires you, engages you, permits you to put down word after word and keep trying.
Very few writers can write full-time or call themselves "writers" initially, perhaps for years. So - it doesn't matter how you do it, it simply matters that you find a way to do it. Write, keep writing, be serious about your writing, work out what a life looks like that has writing in it - and, perhaps, some sense of direction for improvement, aspiration and audience.
But these last bits are optional. What works for you won't be what works for me, or what worked for Hemingway. Write. Write some more. Fit some reading in there too. Keep going. Good luck!
This is the key, I think. One way or another, if you're serious about writing, you need to find a way to live that also allows you to write - and this means being honest about what (and who!) inspires you, engages you, permits you to put down word after word and keep trying.
Very few writers can write full-time or call themselves "writers" initially, perhaps for years. So - it doesn't matter how you do it, it simply matters that you find a way to do it. Write, keep writing, be serious about your writing, work out what a life looks like that has writing in it - and, perhaps, some sense of direction for improvement, aspiration and audience.
But these last bits are optional. What works for you won't be what works for me, or what worked for Hemingway. Write. Write some more. Fit some reading in there too. Keep going. Good luck!
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