Writing Is Not Thinking – But It Can Extend It
Journal
Notelab. Developing Ideas Through Evidence-informed Note-Making.
Type
digital resource
Date Issued
2026-01-29
Author(s)
Abstract
Human cognition is not bound to one specific medium. People think while perceiving, imagining, gesturing, conversing, and other ways of acting in the world. Writing is one way—sometimes a powerful one—to support cognition (Luhmann, 1992; Scheuermann, 2016), but it is neither necessary nor sufficient for thinking to occur. Cognitive psychology shows that cognition extends beyond the brain into bodies, tools, spaces, and other people (Paul, 2021; Siegel, 2025) and that it operates across fast, intuitive processes and slow, deliberate ones (Kahneman, 2011). Writing can support some forms of thinking—but it does not cause it and is not evidence that thinking is happening.
Funding(s)
Language
English (United States)
Keywords
Writing
Thinking
Cognition
Extended Cognition
PKM
PIM
Knowledge Management
Illusion
Myth
Fact
Evidence
Mythbusting
Debunking
Tools for Thought
Schreiben
Schreibdenken
Poor Proxy
Notemaking
Notetaking
Generative Learning Strategies
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
No
Official URL
Division(s)
Contact Email Address
stefan.siegel@unisg.ch