This transcript explores the essay not as a tedious school requirement, but as the ultimate tool for deep learning and intellectual investigation. The core message is that writing is thinking; by attempting to articulate an idea, you move from vague intuition to concrete understanding.

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1. The Philosophy of the “Essai”

The word “essay” originates from the French verb essayer, which means “to try” or “to attempt.” * An Investigation, Not a Performance: An essay is a process of testing an idea rather than a flawless display of knowledge.

• Historical Legacy: The format was pioneered by Michel de Montaigne to explore human nature and popularized by figures like Francis Bacon, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Friedrich Nietzsche.
• Modern Evolution: Today, essays exist in many forms beyond paper, including newsletters, blog posts, and long-form video essays.

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2. Why Essays Are Powerful Learning Tools

The transcript argues that the act of writing provides three specific cognitive benefits:

• The “Mirror” Effect: Ideas in your head are often scattered and vague. Putting them on paper creates distance, allowing you to view your thoughts objectively—like looking in a mirror to spot flaws you couldn’t see from “inside” your own head.
• Linear Organization: Writing forces you to take non-linear, chaotic thoughts and arrange them into a rational, logical order. This is a primary test of intelligence and comprehension.
• The Feynman Technique: Writing forces you to use your own words. If you cannot explain a concept simply and originally, you haven’t truly understood it yet.

  Key Mindset: The learning happens during the writing process. Even if you delete the essay immediately after finishing, the mental growth remains. Process is more important than the product.

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3. The Practical Framework

To start using essays for personal learning, the author suggests focusing on three pillars:

A. Medium: Analog vs. Digital

B. The Four Main Styles

1. Expository: Objective explanations (Wiki-style).
2. Argumentative: Using logic to push a specific viewpoint or belief.
3. Analytical: Breaking down a complex work (like a book or movie) to see how its parts connect.
4. Reflective: Personal accounts and anecdotes used to explore broader themes.

C. Choosing a Topic

• Follow Interest: If you aren’t passionate about the topic, the writing will be dry and the learning will be minimal.
• The Mini-Essay: Focus on one single point per essay. This prevents the message from being diluted and makes the habit more sustainable.
• Ignore the “Fluff”: Don’t worry about formal introductions or redundant conclusions. Get straight to the point, explain it well, and stop.

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4. Overcoming Perfectionism

The biggest barrier to writing is the desire to be “correct” or “perfect.” The author highlights that:

• Making mistakes is an inevitable part of the learning process.
• An essay is a “problem-solving method,” not a final monument of truth.
• To discover anything new, you must be willing to be confused and struggle with the material.
  Would you like me to help you structure a “mini-essay” based on a topic you are currently learning about?

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Content

Intro

0:00

Essays are the ultimate tool for

0:01

learning deeply. And you might just see

0:03

them as a boring old school assignment.

0:04

But that is so far from the truth.

0:06

Because writers like Orwell, like

0:08

nature, like Newton, they’ve used the

0:10

essay as a medium of further ideas.

0:13

Ideas which changed our conception of

0:15

politics, of philosophy, of how we see

0:17

the universe itself. I’ve wrote easily

0:19

over a thousand essays, both long and

0:21

short, and in all sorts of different

0:23

formats. And they’ve been the reliable

0:25

backbone of my learning for years now. I

0:27

love them. And in fact, everything you

0:30

watch here on YouTube pretty much,

0:31

including my videos, started as an

0:33

essay. So, they’re everywhere and

0:35

they’re great and you can use them, too.

0:36

So, we’ll look at the French origin

0:38

story of the essay as a format, why

0:40

they’re so damn great for your retention

0:42

and your understanding, and finally, how

0:44

you can make them a part of your own

0:46

learning with all the different styles,

0:47

mediums, and techniques. And I promise

0:49

you, there’s something for everyone. So,

What is an essay?

0:50

let’s get into it. Now, the word essay

0:52

comes from the French essay, which means

0:54

to try or to attempt. And I want you to

0:56

remember that because it’s very

0:58

important later on. It’s a format

0:59

credited to the French Renaissance

1:01

philosopher Michelle de Monten. And he

1:03

used his own famous collection of essays

1:05

to explore each and every little aspect

1:07

of human nature and really himself. He

1:09

would write essays on things like

1:11

idleness or on cruelty and even more

1:13

wild things like cannibalism. Now

1:15

Francis Bacon borrowed this technique

1:16

and really popularized it in England.

1:18

And from there it boomed across all of

1:20

Europe and it was sort of the format for

1:22

discourse of all kinds across the

1:24

Atlantic. Ralph Waldo Emerson used them

1:26

to make social commentary. Thomas Payne

1:28

used the essay for political arguments

1:31

on American independence, on

1:33

abolitionism, and on governance in

1:35

general. And Friedri Nature took on a

1:36

more philosophical approach, using them

1:38

to write about morality and culture. And

1:40

finally, in the modern age, it’s taken

1:42

the form of video, and we can now spend

1:44

an hour learning about the psychological

1:46

horror of Garfield. It’s just great. I

1:48

love it. So, the point is, the essay

1:50

comes in many different forms, and

1:51

that’s part of what makes it so great.

1:53

But what is it still? Like we haven’t

1:55

answered that question. What what does

1:56

it actually mean to write an essay? Now

1:58

the actual definition of an essay is

2:00

pretty loose. But generally speaking,

2:02

and don’t police me on this, but

2:04

generally speaking, they are short

2:05

pieces of writing that exist to explain

2:08

or describe or argue something. And now

Why essays help you learn

2:10

the big question, why are essays so

2:12

powerful? Remember what I said earlier?

2:15

Because the secret is in their name. If

2:17

SA means to try, then it shows us that

2:20

the very act of writing an essay is

2:22

learning in and of itself. It’s an

2:24

investigation because learning is not

2:26

this end result. It’s not a wall that

2:28

you hit. There’s no end goal. There’s no

2:30

master prestige. There’s no end to it.

2:33

You’re like Cisphus. You’re constantly

2:35

pushing and trying and learning and

2:37

investigating, exploring, or as the

2:39

French would say, “Saya.” Now, back in

2:41

the day when I was just a wee lad, I

2:43

used to see essays as this grand project

2:45

that had to be perfect. The structure

2:48

had to be spot-on. The points had to be

2:50

perfect. The details had to be there.

2:52

And while that’s a good mentality, and I

2:54

understand why I thought that, it’s not

2:55

the case. Essay writing should be seen

2:58

more as a problem-solving method where

3:01

the process, the means, is more

3:02

important than the end. You’re not

3:04

writing so that you can have a finished

3:05

essay. You can burn it at the end for

3:07

all I care. I mean, that’s what we did

3:08

with our ones at the end of school. The

3:10

point of writing an essay is to give

3:12

yourself the chance to think because the

3:14

ideas in your head, they’re scattered.

3:15

They’re unclear. They’re vague. You

3:18

don’t really know what you know. But as

3:20

soon as you put them onto paper, they

3:21

become real. They become expressed into

3:23

the world. And only then do you have the

3:26

perspective to see them and to really

3:27

judge them properly. Think of it like

3:29

stepping back in order to fully

3:31

appreciate a painting and understand it.

3:33

Because when an idea is in your head,

3:35

you think you know it better than you

3:36

do. But as soon as you’re asked to

3:38

explain it, you’re stumped. Nothing’s

3:40

coming out. You’re struggling. You’re

3:42

overconfident. And you think you knew

3:43

more than you actually did. When an idea

3:45

is on paper, it’s separate from you. You

3:47

can see it. You can examine it. You can

3:49

criticize it. You can see if it even

3:51

makes sense and if you’re not just

3:53

waffling completely. I like to think of

3:54

it like a mirror. Cuz sometimes I wake

3:57

up in the morning, I get ready, and I

3:58

leave the house without looking in the

4:00

mirror at once. And then I come home,

4:03

see my reflection and think, “Oh

4:05

was I looking like that the whole day?”

4:07

Yeah, I was. And I can only spot these

4:10

flaws later because I saw I had a new

4:13

perspective. I could see what was I

4:16

guess wrong with my hair or what was

4:18

wrong with my face or whatever. And

4:20

writing is very much the same. You are

4:22

given this new perspective and you can

4:24

check if it makes sense. And actually

4:25

the process of writing in itself is

4:28

important because you have to take these

4:30

vague and scattered thoughts and

4:32

actually give them some sort of rational

4:34

linear order and that is hard and that

4:36

is really what intelligence is and essay

4:39

writing is the ultimate test of that.

4:41

And finally essay writing forces you to

4:43

use your own words. There’s no more

4:45

hiding behind any copy pastes or just

4:48

boring what someone else said. You

4:49

actually have to explain it as you

4:51

understand it. And that is the ultimate

4:53

proof that you’ve understood it. It’s

4:55

the Fineman technique. And I won’t go on

4:57

about that now. But if you cannot

5:00

explain something in your own words,

5:01

then you don’t understand it. And essays

5:03

force you to do exactly that. If this

5:05

very idea intimidates you, then I would

5:07

bet that that comes from a place of

5:08

perfectionism. And you know, I

5:10

understand that, don’t get me wrong. But

5:12

I think there’s a sort of pressure on

5:14

yourself to produce this beautiful piece

5:15

of work. And you treat the essay like

5:17

it’s a flawless display of knowledge

5:19

that has no fault. And it really isn’t.

5:22

Half the I write in Obsidian is

5:24

probably wrong or at least missing

5:26

something or only part of the full

5:28

picture. I might be chatting I

5:30

might be unclear. I might be making

5:32

logical errors. And I’m not saying this

5:34

like I’m proud, like it’s a good thing

5:36

and it’s okay. It’s not. But I am saying

5:38

it’s inevitable. It’s part of the

5:40

learning process. It’s as Miiamoto

5:42

Mousashi said in the book of Five Rings,

5:45

to transcend retardation, you must first

5:47

embrace it. Real quote, by the way. No,

5:50

no cap. Real quote. Essays are acts of

5:52

investigation. You will make mistakes.

5:54

You will be confused. You will struggle.

5:56

And yet, you must write them anyway

5:58

because that is the only way to discover

5:59

anything new. For example, whenever I

6:01

speak about mini essays in Obsidian or

6:03

or notes in general, I get a few

6:06

comments saying, “H, what’s the point of

6:08

all this, mate? You’re never going to

6:09

reread them.” And it’s like, well, first

6:11

of all, I do sometimes. So, suck your

6:13

mom. And second of all, it doesn’t

6:15

matter because the revisiting the essay

6:19

or the note is only half the process.

6:21

The other half is writing it. And even

6:24

if I never revisited them ever again, it

6:26

doesn’t matter because the actual

6:28

learning happened during the writing.

6:30

And I could delete it immediately after.

6:32

It wouldn’t matter because I’ve used it

6:34

as a chance to think, to learn, to rack

6:36

my brain. And ultimately, that’s what

6:38

matters, right? If all my notes are

6:41

deleted, who cares? I’ve learned about

6:43

them and I’ve used them as a way to gain

6:46

more knowledge and more understanding of

6:48

the world. So yeah, sorry about that was

6:50

a bit rude, but it was true. Yeah. And

6:53

to go back to an earlier question, this

6:56

is probably why schools and universities

6:58

love the essay. It’s a way for the

7:00

professor to say, “Here’s your title.

7:02

Here’s your topic. Go figure it out,

7:05

learn about it, and then write something

7:06

to prove that you’ve understood it.”

7:09

They then mark it, give it back to you.

7:11

You learn from your mistakes and then

7:13

you do it a thousand times over.

7:15

It’s not the essay that matters. It’s

7:17

the writing of the essay. The beauty of

7:19

the essay is in the process. Writing

7:22

essays is great, but only if you’re

7:23

consistent. And to really make it a

7:26

habit, you need a productivity system

7:28

that helps you use your time wisely.

7:30

Now, you want something that’s simple

7:31

and easy to get going, but also

7:33

effective. And AIFlow, who are

7:36

sponsoring this video, have done a great

7:37

job at capturing that philosophy. Now

7:39

you’re busy and it’s annoying to have to

7:41

juggle 10 different apps just to stay on

7:43

task. AIFlow simplifies that with the

7:45

universal inbox. It integrates with all

7:48

of the apps you already have like Gmail,

7:50

Slack, and Notion. And it creates this

7:51

central hub in which all of the tasks

7:54

neatly funnel into. So there’s no more

7:56

jumping around. This all connects to

7:57

your AIFlow calendar where you can drag

7:59

and drop tasks, you can block out time,

8:01

and you can get stuff done with maximum

8:03

focus. One of my big struggles is that I

8:05

procrastinate when I have too much to do

8:07

and I don’t know where to begin. So, I

8:09

like the co-pilot feature, which uses AI

8:11

to learn your work patterns and then

8:13

give you a suggestion on what to work on

8:14

next. It takes the friction of

8:16

decision-m off your shoulders, and you

8:18

can just get going right away. There’s

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no stalling, no wasted energy, just

8:22

action. To try out AIFlow for yourself

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and take back control of your schedule,

8:26

click link down below, have an explore,

8:28

and I do hope you enjoy. So, thank you

How to write essays (medium, style, topic)

8:30

to AIFlow. So, the essay is an

8:31

incredibly powerful learning tool, but

8:33

how do you actually go about writing

8:34

them? Well, there’s many ways to do it,

8:37

and I like to really narrow it down with

8:38

three features: medium, topic, and

8:41

style. Now, your essays will be very

8:43

much unique to you. So, I’m not going to

8:45

tell you how or what to write. Instead,

8:47

I’ll give you some suggestions, some

8:48

pointers, and of course, show you what I

8:50

do as an example. And from there, it’s

8:52

up to you. First is Medium. Where are

8:55

you writing these? Because the first big

8:57

decision is, are you going to be using

8:59

pen and paper or will you type them up

9:01

online? And it’s a hard decision because

9:03

they’re both great in their own way.

9:05

Now, let’s just be real. Pen on paper

9:07

feels way nicer. It feels more like

9:09

writing, like proper writing. It feels

9:11

more romantic. And beyond that, there’s

9:13

evidence to show that writing with your

9:16

with a pen or pencil is better for your

9:19

retention and your understanding. I’ll

9:20

link some of those papers below. Yes,

9:22

it’s slower. Yes, it’s harder. But

9:25

ultimately, that’s what we want. We want

9:27

it to be we want there to be friction

9:29

and we want there to be this this

9:31

grappling and this struggle with ideas

9:32

because that’s how you learn. That’s

9:34

probably why it activates a broader area

9:36

of the brain and makes your learning

9:38

more engaged and intentional. Why is

9:40

there a ladybug on the camera? Hey yo,

9:42

who’s this?

9:44

What is that? On the other hand, digital

9:47

notes have two massive advantages over

9:49

pen and paper. First, they are infinite,

9:52

and second, they’re organizable. You can

9:54

write as much as you want. You can write

9:55

as many essays as you want, and no

9:57

matter how big your library gets, you

9:59

can still carry it around on something

10:01

as small as your phone. And even if that

10:03

is lost or your files are corrupted or

10:05

whatever, there is syncing, there are

10:08

backups, there’s the cloud, it’s going

10:10

to be okay, unless there’s like a

10:11

nuclear holocaust, but yeah, fair

10:13

enough. Notebooks are bulky and while

10:15

they can store a lot, it adds up fast

10:18

and sooner or later your room looks like

10:20

one of a schizophrenic hoarder where you

10:22

have all these notebooks everywhere.

10:24

Notebooks also can’t do this. Ink is

10:26

static and pages are hard to organize,

10:29

but digital notes are very flexible. You

10:32

can add as much metadata as you want.

10:33

You can link them. You can add tags,

10:35

properties, dates, all of these things

10:38

which make the structure and the system

10:40

very convenient and easy. And instead of

10:43

having to flick through a billion pages

10:44

to find what you need, you can just

10:46

search through all of them instantly.

10:48

And if you have a clever system, one

10:50

that has some thought behind it, you can

10:53

actually give structure to your thoughts

10:54

and you can help your future self

10:56

discover things more easily, which I try

10:59

to achieve in my Obsidian system. Now,

11:01

digital notes will never be perfect, but

11:04

we cannot deny that they are more

11:05

flexible and they will always have more

11:08

capacity for organization and

11:10

convenience, you could say. So, we were

11:12

back the next day cuz I was losing

11:13

daylight and it was a disaster. But what

11:15

I was saying is at this point you have

11:17

to narrow in on the program you want to

11:19

use to type up your notes. And you can

11:22

use anything really. I like Obsidian

11:23

because it’s simple. It’s flexible. It

11:26

gets the job done. But the point is to

11:28

pick something and stick with it because

11:30

you’re never going to get anywhere if

11:31

you keep switching every month. It’s

11:32

just procrastination. Now the next thing

11:34

you want to consider is the style. How

11:37

are you going to write these essays?

11:38

What’s the tone you’re going to approach

11:39

them with? Are they going to be short or

11:42

long? Are they going to be formal or

11:43

informal? Now, you can do anything and

11:45

the answers to these obviously depend on

11:47

your goals. Like if you’re doing a

11:48

research project or if you’re just

11:49

learning for fun and you want to keep

11:50

things a bit more casual. I’ll go into

11:53

some examples, but first this is what I

11:54

do. One of my favorite formats is the

11:56

mini essay. And this is a short piece of

11:59

writing that covers one point. So, one

12:02

mini essay, one point, and nothing else.

12:05

Now, this all happens in the context of

12:06

my obsidian system. And I like this

12:09

format because they’re long enough that

12:11

you can go into detail and really cover

12:13

a point well, but they’re not so long

12:15

that it feels like this laborious task

12:17

every day that you have to do. So

12:19

there’s a balance between depth and I

12:21

guess speed or consistency. Instead of

12:23

them being a full essay, they’re more of

12:25

a point within the essay. to then test

12:27

my knowledge even more. I like to

12:28

connect these essays to each other

12:30

because that gives me a chance to sort

12:31

of see how things relate and it lets me

12:34

build this network of knowledge which is

12:36

good for, you know, having a a full

12:38

understanding of it. For longer pieces

12:40

like my script or newsletters, I like to

12:42

focus on just arguing one major point

12:45

and one alone and then I split that up

12:47

into sections that sort of guide the

12:49

reader naturally from A to B. I usually

12:52

open with my point and then go straight

12:54

into a story or an analogy or a

12:57

reference to some other text and then at

12:59

the end of that I link back to the

13:01

original point and sort of explain why

13:03

they connect or what I’m trying to say

13:06

essentially. And you know obviously

13:07

that’s just a rough plan but it’s kind

13:08

of what I like to do. Now that’s just

13:10

me. So if you need more inspiration

13:12

still here are some other styles you can

13:13

use. First is the expository style which

13:16

is your classic explainer or wiki style

13:18

article. And this is clear, it’s brief,

13:21

it’s hopefully it’s objective as

13:22

possible and it exists to inform the

13:25

reader of something to describe

13:26

something. In a similar vein is the

13:28

essay argument where instead of just

13:30

describing something with blunt facts,

13:32

you actually push a viewpoint. You use

13:34

logic and reason to argue something that

13:36

you believe in. These will be your

13:38

opinion pieces and the political

13:40

commentaries and they will tend to

13:41

follow a logical structure like this.

13:44

Next is the analytical style. And this

13:46

happens when you take a topic or a

13:48

subject or a piece of work and you break

13:50

it down. You dissect it. You examine

13:53

each part and then you see how it all

13:54

connects in this bigger picture. And you

13:56

often see this in the form of book

13:58

reviews or literary criticism or

14:01

anything that is giving a deep analysis

14:03

to something. This does blend with the

14:05

argument style a bit more, but to be

14:07

fair, they all do. These categories

14:09

aren’t strict and they will blend into

14:11

each other in this gray area. The final

14:13

broad style is the reflective or

14:15

personal essay. And this one, you could

14:17

say, is less academic. It’s more

14:19

subjective. And this is where the author

14:22

shares their experiences, their

14:24

anecdotes, their thoughts, their

14:26

memories, experiences in order to do

14:29

something. Maybe they are trying to

14:30

describe society. Maybe they’re doing it

14:32

for themselves. Maybe they’re using it

14:34

to make a point or to analyze a period

14:38

of history or something like that. The

14:40

long version of this you could say is a

14:42

memoir. And on a more intimate level,

14:44

you’ll see it in letters or journal

14:47

entries. And there’s lots of famous

14:49

examples of these. Now, in practice,

14:51

your style isn’t going to fall rigidly

14:53

into one of these categories. Chances

14:55

are, it’s going to be a blend of a few

14:56

of them, and it’s going to end up being

14:58

unique to you. And really, with essay

15:00

writing, there’s no rules. You might

15:02

have to learn the rules before you can

15:04

break them, but ultimately you can go

15:06

batshit crazy and really write wherever

15:08

you want. If you’re truly lost on where

15:09

to start, I would begin with a simple

15:12

point explanation sort of format where

15:14

you’re just describing something. And

15:17

over time as you write, you’ll learn

15:18

more about yourself. You’ll see what

15:20

styles uh work with you and you will

15:23

find your voice. And remember, the essay

15:25

doesn’t have to be perfectly accurate or

15:27

perfectly written. I mean, obviously try

15:29

not to make up and you should

15:31

do research still, but just remember the

15:33

process is what counts. and that process

15:35

of striving and learning and trying.

15:38

Finally comes the topic. What are you

15:40

going to write about? Now, there are no

15:42

rules here. You can do literally

15:44

anything. But if you’re stuck, I would

15:46

consider some prompts. First, you have

15:49

to write what you’re interested in

15:51

because you can tell when someone

15:53

doesn’t care. It’s going to reflect in

15:55

their writing. It’s going to come off as

15:57

dry, slow, sluggish. And if you really

16:00

want the pen to flow and the ideas to

16:02

come, then you have to care about what

16:04

you’re writing. You have to pick

16:05

something that really resonates with you

16:06

and something you’re passionate about,

16:08

something you think about a lot. That

16:10

takes the essay from being dry and

16:12

boring, maybe as you thought it was, to

16:14

something fun and rewarding. Secondly,

16:16

and this is just my opinion, but I think

16:18

an essay is best written when it focuses

16:20

on one point. Because if you try and

16:23

make it too complicated and you try and

16:25

argue many different things at the same

16:27

time in tangent to each other, I think

16:30

it dilutes the message. You get

16:32

confused, your reader gets confused.

16:34

It’s harder to pull off and you end up

16:37

making several points but not making

16:38

them very well. Instead, I like to pick

16:41

one argument, one topic, one subject,

16:44

one statement and really focus on that

16:46

and focus on delivering it well. You

16:49

don’t have much time or space to make a

16:51

point. So, I think if you focus all of

16:53

your effort into one, it’s going to turn

16:55

out better. And that does maybe mean you

16:58

have to be precise with what you write

16:59

about because the essay is short. And if

17:02

we focus on this massive topic, we don’t

17:04

really get enough time to go into it

17:06

properly. So, really, I would recommend

17:08

something precise, something you’re

17:10

passionate about, and something that you

17:12

can wrap up in a short space of time.

17:15

And finally, and maybe this is a hot

17:17

take, but I don’t bother with a

17:19

conclusion or an intro. I like to just

17:22

get into my point. And if you’ve made

17:25

your point well during the essay, you

17:26

don’t need this redundant paragraph at

17:28

the end to repeat what you’ve just said.

17:31

It feels it’s a waste of time. It It’s

17:34

boring to be honest because you’re not

17:35

writing anything new. And I’d rather

17:38

just wrap up my points in a single

17:40

sentence that really hammers it down and

17:42

closes the piece of work. Say what you

17:44

have to say, get to the point. And once

17:46

you’ve made your point, finish it as

17:48

soon as possible. Wrap it up. You don’t

17:50

have to waffle on and, you know, give

17:52

this outro. Just say what you have to

17:55

say and finish. If you’re curious about

17:57

my Obsidian system and you want to see

17:58

how you can set it up yourself, I’ll

18:00

link a video here. And if you want more

18:02

advice on how to analyze your books and

18:04

how to learn before you start writing,

18:07

I’ll also link a a video on analysis

18:09

here. And as always, I’d love to hear

18:10

your comments. I’d love to hear your

18:12

your thoughts on this, what you do

18:13

differently, what you disagree with me

18:15

on. And as always, I appreciate you for

18:17

watching. So, thank you very much.

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