Exacerbated by the age of anonymity is the thing the ancients called cacoethes scribendi, the itch to write. The human condition includes the need to be heard, a desperate need, really, and for many of us who can type, writing is one channel to speak that need. There are standard arguments about the unhealthy prepossession anonymity provides for scratching some itches in really filthy places, and I agree with those, but I think anonymity is the rule, has been the rule. I think that’s an agreeable supposition. Failing in writing is a common experience, so common it cannot be measured by percentile.

Source: The Times January 30, 2023 18:57 UTC