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I write, therefore I think. I think, therefore I am.

Why I’m Writing on Substack

I’ve accumulated too many thoughts and not enough people to share them with. I’ve been on Twitter for years, but I’ve found myself increasingly craving long-form writing.

I recently submitted my PhD thesis. For the first time in years, my mind has space again. Instead of being consumed by lung immunology, it’s wandering in every direction. New ideas keep appearing, and I’m quickly realizing they need somewhere to live.

Descartes argued that our capacity to think is the foundation of our existence: Cogito, ergo sum—I think, therefore I am.

For me, though, real thinking rarely happens in isolation. More often than not, it happens on the page.

This is the central thesis of this Substack: writing forces belief formation.

Thoughts are fluid. They contradict one another, wander without direction, and rarely demand a conclusion. In your own mind, you’re free to entertain every possibility without committing to any of them.

Writing changes that.

The moment an idea reaches the page, you’re forced to make sense of it—to organize it, interrogate it, defend it, and ultimately decide what you actually believe. Writing isn’t simply the expression of thought; it’s the process by which thought becomes belief.

Thinking shapes who you are. In that sense, what you write becomes who you become.

That realization feels especially relevant at this stage of my life. I’m in my late twenties, recently married, and about to finish graduate school. For the first time, there isn’t a prescribed path in front of me. I’m finding myself asking not just what I want to do, but who I want to become.

I’m hoping writing will help me think through that question.

So what will I write about?

Simply put: my observations about the world around me.

I’m endlessly curious about the fundamentals of life—purpose, motivation, love, family, ambition, science, philosophy, art, technology, and whatever else captures my attention that week. Nothing is really off limits. If I find something interesting enough to think about, I’ll probably want to write about it.

Although I’m writing primarily for myself, the internet has a funny way of bringing together strangers who have been asking the same questions. If these essays happen to resonate with a few people along the way, I'll consider that a happy surprise.

Publishing these thoughts publicly is intimidating; it’s much easier to keep ideas private until they’re polished. However, I think of writing the same way I think of science: every idea is a hypothesis. Once it’s public, it’s open to scrutiny. Some ideas will emerge stronger; others will fall apart. Either outcome is useful.

So here we go.