we’ve lost the art of dictation. the great thinkers didn’t spend their time hunched over tablets scribbling. no, they dictated, entranced, in a state of flow, pacing, eyes gazing to the stars or to the palms of their hands, gesticulating, restless, speaking the great texts into existence as their lowly scribes scribbled away. st augustine dictated to multiple scribes at once. john milton dictated the entire paradise lost after going blind. great writing is great thinking is great speaking. we can’t have a golden age of writing until we return to the thinker-scribbler split.