# I realize that your post isn’t meant to be a coherent argument, but — the
only way we can tell that…

* * *

I realize that your post isn’t meant to be a coherent argument, but — the only
way we can tell that an idea is good is by trying to kill it and failing. To
the extent that a writer is a curator of ideas, we benefit from taking the
same kind of aggressive approach toward ideas as we do toward words when
editing.

By [John Ohno](https://medium.com/@enkiv2) on [March 1,
2017](https://medium.com/p/825cf2fb4463).

[Canonical link](https://medium.com/@enkiv2/i-realize-that-your-post-isnt-
meant-to-be-a-coherent-argument-but-the-only-way-we-can-tell-
that-825cf2fb4463)

Exported from [Medium](https://medium.com) on September 18, 2020.