She didn’t ask the more generic question, “What practices work best for writing history?” She discovered what practices worked specifically for her.
More generally, we see the following basic pattern:
Encoding —> Awareness of encoding (implicit or explicit) —> Translation into operating modes tailored specifically (and often uniquely) to the person —> Effect
Related Quotes
People change best by feeling good, not by feeling bad. Amy set herself up for success by thoughtfully using prompts to design changes. Those changes worked because they helped her do what she already wanted to do. And that success? That felt good.
Barbara McClintock discovered a set of natural encodings that she trusted and followed, even without knowing exactly where they would lead. She didn’t learn how to lose herself in thought; she was encoded to lose herself in thought. She didn’t learn how to make her brain into an organic decryption machine; she discovered that she came pre-packaged with that encoding and then used it. No one taught her to mentally transport herself into a cell and walk around inside that cell making friends with the chromosomes; that was just an idiosyncratic encoding specific to Barbara McClintock.
One of the advantages of having pairs to study is that we can see how two people engaged in similar activities can differ radically in how they operate. This shows that their successful practices are only partly a function of the type of work they do, and largely a reflection of how the individual is encoded. To illustrate, let's look at the other writer in our study, Barbara Tuchman.
Like Toni Morrison, Barbara Tuchman talked and wrote extensively about her specific practices; she even wrote a whole book on her methods, Practicing History.
So, here we have the story of a mom at home who decides to become a writer of history. She writes a book that the president reads. The president applies the lessons of the book to help avert a nuclear war. And we’re all alive today.
Barbara Tuchman didn’t set out to save the world when she wrote her books. She was just following her encodings. Once she discovered her encodings, she simply trusted them and focused the inner fire on writing books. She didn’t stop herself with questions like “Is this a worthy use of myself?” or “What will my parents think?” or “Does my husband approve?” or “Is this going to make me famous?” or “Will it generate huge social good in the eyes of my peers?” or any of that.