First We Read, Then We Write: Emerson on the Creative Process

Emerson is one of my favorite authors. I think his philosophy on creative output/self-expression is just as applicable for writing as it is for programming; programming to me, is the ardent beauty and cogency of the [programmer's] thoughts being expressed in a language that is ultimately interpreted by a computer (rather than a human). It is an art - but, programming without spirit is just "coding".

The edition of Emerson around the house has in the preface a quotation from Harriet Martineau, roughly "The logicians score incessant triumphs over him, yet he is not vanquished."<p>It seems to me that Emerson was an outstanding journalist and writer on current events. As a thinker, though, he strikes me as too frequently vague and ready to make rhetoric cover for doubtful inferences.