Why Should Geeks Write?
Communication skills are some of the most useful skills someone can acquire in their lifetime. These skills cannot be obtained by simply reading a textbook. On the contrary, it takes years to master these skills through public speaking, writing, interviews, etc.
Why are these skills important?
Writing a program and coming up with exceptional ideas may be simple for some however this is worthless when one cannot speak of his/her program or explain its function to others. Big projects often require the aid of the public or the government. How can someone obtain financial support for a project without the ability to promote it? Winning over investors or convincing peers to collaborate on a project requires well formulated and convincing arguments.
Making progress when working on a project is also difficult if a person is incapable of sharing his/her ideas. Interchanging ideas between peers can truly advance a project and bring more depth to it.
Furthermore, writing skills are surprisingly important when using Python. As taught in class, when writing in the Python language, leaving comments to describe the steps that someone takes has a great deal of value. Without this, it may be difficult and more time consuming for others to read and understand a code. Leaving comments in a code, or leaving notes about ideas for a code may even be beneficial for future reference. If someone is working on a code for long periods of time and taking breaks, these notes can minimize the time spent on remembering what he/she was trying to do or what they meant to do when they wrote the code.
Losing these skills is much easier than one would think.
I, a second year in Life Sciences hoping to get into Computer Science, find that after a year of taking merely science courses, courses that don't test one's writing skills or speaking skills, writing a simple slog or even being interviewed is much more intimidating and challenging than it should be. Practicing by writing every day is something I should invest in. Great writing and speaking skills could undoubtedly advance someone's career and relationships.
