Reading, Writing, Producing, and Telling

Today, a high school student came to me; they spoke about their projects, what they wanted to do, and how they no longer felt confined by their current environment. They wanted to discuss: “What can I do, and how can I do it?” Sometimes we wish to take rapid steps in our lives, but while focusing on the outcome, we overlook the path we took to reach it. While conversing with this young person, I touched upon a point I would like to share with you.

Today, with the growing number of events in our country such as TEKNOFEST and Take Off, we are all adapting to generating ideas and embracing a designer’s mindset; perhaps, like our friend, we carry incredible ideas in our minds. But I believe we are overlooking something: the process of “Reading, Writing, Producing, and Explaining.” If we approach this subject with the metaphor of a hill, the flat summit at the top is very pleasing—but the pleasure of the journey causes us to forget the climb itself. Therefore, when bringing a project or an idea to life, we must work through four stages.

Reading emerges as the first and most crucial step in any project. If we consider Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, reading is the first step toward not accepting the shadows before us as the only reality and instead striving to reach the light. As a generation that has heard stories of how the same idea took shape in two different regions during the same era, and with the internet and its vast reading resources at our disposal, beginning a project without reading is equivalent to refusing to break the chains in Plato’s cave.

Writing constitutes the second and most explanatory step in a project. I believe we must divide this stage into two necessities: our duty to humanity and our belief in our own idea. Through writing, we must enable humanity to engage in collective brainstorming and gain access to knowledge. Our other necessity is faith in our idea. Sometimes we become so enamored with our idea that we fail to see its flaws; but when we commit it to writing, knowing others will read it, we adopt a critical perspective. As the saying goes, “Words fly away, but writing endures”—we must embrace this principle at this stage. Precisely here, I would like to ask you: If you had no sources at hand from the previous step, could you have begun writing?

Producing is the first step where a project takes form. The most enriching way to shape your project at this stage is forming a team. You may need to earn trust and entrust your responsibilities to capable individuals to advance your project at this stage. I believe our greatest challenge here is trying to produce an immediate result that pleases us. Yet sometimes a pencil sketch or a CAD drawing is also a valid output. You must continue until you reach the furthest point your team’s competencies allow.

Explaining is, in my view, the most difficult step in this process; because it involves many elements such as Aristotle’s art of rhetoric, engineering, and design. Precisely for this reason, we must avoid mistakes; because errors in the explaining stage can shatter the confidence built in earlier steps and prolong our journey even further.

Regardless of the outcome of these steps, the most critical and unforgettable thing must be the gains you made during the climb and the beauty of the views you witnessed as you ascended. Perhaps you were tired—but with that fatigue came unique views and unparalleled experiences. Setting everything else aside, friends: You have learned how to climb the hill.