Writing as a form of learning

In economist Robert Frank's "Economic Scene" article in today's NYT he explains that the process of writing is, in fact, an important learning tool that helps us understand what we're writing about and retain that understanding over time. For instance, in Professor Frank's class he asks students to write a short paper on an everyday issue that has puzzling economic implications. Two student questions he notes in the article are:

Why do the keypad buttons on drive-up cash machines have Braille dots? or

Why do brides often spend thousands of dollars on wedding dresses they will never wear again, while grooms often rent cheap tuxedos, even though they will attend many formal social events in the future?

These are interesting questions and it is worth reading Frank's article for the student's answers alone. However, Frank's discussion of writing and his explanation that it holds value above acting as a means of communication is excellent. He explains:

Although the human brain is remarkably flexible, learning theorists now recognize that it is far better able to absorb information in some forms than others. Thus, according to the psychologist Jerome Bruner, children "turn things into stories, and when they try to make sense of their life they use the storied version of their experience as the basis for further reflection." He went on, "If they don't catch something in a narrative structure, it doesn't get remembered very well, and it doesn't seem to be accessible for further kinds of mulling over." Even well into adulthood, we find it easier to process information in narrative form than in more abstract forms like equations and graphs. Most effective of all are narratives that we construct ourselves.
...
Daniel Boorstin, the former librarian of Congress, used to rise at 5 each morning and write for two hours before going into the office. 'I write to discover what I think,' he explained. 'After all, the bars aren't open that early.' Mr. Boorstin's morning sessions were even more valuable than he realized. Writing not only clarifies what you already know; it is also an astonishingly effective way to learn something new.

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