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The write stuff

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Cite

Green, D. (2026, October 3). The write stuff. Washington Examiner. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/premium/4749327/joe-cruz-new-york-times-artificial-intelligence-college-writing/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Washington Examiner · collected 2026-10-03 · by Dominic Green

Quick Summary

Joe Cruz, chairman of Williams College's philosophy department, wrote a New York Times op-ed in late September questioning the assumption that writing is the pinnacle of intellectual development. He argues there is little evidence supporting this belief, which he dates back to the 1970s teach-across-the-curriculum movement. Instead, Cruz advocates for oral communication, referencing Socrates' critique of literacy from an Egyptian myth where Thamos warns that writing leads to forgetfulness and false wisdom.
Written by AI on 2026-10-03, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Joe Cruz, chairman of the philosophy department at Williams College in Massachusetts, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times arguing against treating writing as the pinnacle of intellectual development. He claims that this view emerged from the "teach-across-the-curriculum movement" of the 1970s and lacks substantial evidence. Cruz suggests instead that people should engage more in spoken dialogue. His argument draws on an ancient Egyptian myth where the god Thoth invents writing, but King Thamus of Thebes warns it will weaken memory and lead to false wisdom because the uneducated can read without proper guidance. This perspective echoes Socrates' concerns about literacy's potential downsides.

Written for “Writing Competition” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Writing Competition
Education · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
9
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
11%
1 of 9 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
69/100
Washington Examiner's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Education
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-03 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Dominic Green
6 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 It is not supposed to rhyme with the clodhopping obviousness of a verse by William McGonagall (the Scottish versifier who, until the advent of Amanda Gorman, was considered to be the worst poet ever, but who, unlike most poets, nevertheless made a living, albeit in the circus along with the other freaks).
2026-10-31 · assertive framing · Age of parody
🔮 The scenes of riot and destruction from France may arise from our Gallic friends’ particular circumstances and peculiar habits, but they reflect Europe’s general malaise — one to which the United States is not immune.
2026-10-24 · assertive framing · Forget the riots — France’s downfall will come from its completely broken finances
🔮 Thamos replies that it creates “forgetfulness” by slackening the memory and false wisdom, because the “ignorant” will read “without instruction.”
2026-10-03 · assertive framing · The write stuff
🔮 Patriot Platform, he says, is building “the practical infrastructure” for a national movement that will document and confront the state’s complicity with illegal immigration.
2026-09-26 · assertive framing · Masked vigilantes are raiding neighborhoods in England because the government has become so spineless
🔮 Most of them were looking at demography (the science of population), and how this would alter the culture and politics of European societies.
2026-09-26 · assertive framing · Population prophecies of doom
Also by Dominic Green
Age of parody
2026-10-31 · Washington Examiner
Forget the riots — France’s downfall will come from its completely broken finances
2026-10-24 · New York Post
Masked vigilantes are raiding neighborhoods in England because the government has become so spineless
2026-09-26 · New York Post
Population prophecies of doom
2026-09-26 · Washington Examiner
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 6 articles by Dominic Green →

Topics

Egyptian Massachusetts New York Times Thebes Williams College

Subjects

Cruz PERSON · 3× Thamos PERSON · 2× Egyptian NORP · 1× Joe Cruz PERSON · 1× Massachusetts GPE · 1× New York Times ORG · 1× Socrates PERSON · 1× Thebes GPE · 1× Theuth PERSON · 1× Williams College ORG · 1×

Narrative

The notion that writing is the best way of developing thought is, he thinks, a “fairly recent idea,” dating to the “teach-across-the-curriculum movement” of the 1970s.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-03
🔮 Thamos replies that it creates “forgetfulness” by slackening the memory and false wisdom, because the “ignorant” will read “without instruction.”
2026-10-03 · Washington Examiner
The write stuff · assertive framing

Claims (9 extracted, 1 hedged)

In late September, Cruz wrote a New York Times op-ed arguing that we are “mistaken in treating writing as the highest cultivation of thought.” asserted
we → write → thought
The evidence for this is, Cruz claims, “thin at best.” uncertain
Cruz → claim → this
The notion that writing is the best way of developing thought is, he thinks, a “fairly recent idea,” dating to the “teach-across-the-curriculum movement” of the 1970s. asserted
he → develop → 1970s
Instead, we should speak to one another. asserted
we → speak → one
There are times when the fish passes us the 12-gauge as it climbs into the barrel. asserted
it → be → barrel
Before we blast Cruz in the fins, we should acknowledge that, historically speaking, he has a point. asserted
he → blast → point
It is a point that Socrates made when reciting an Egyptian myth about the origins of “the letters.” asserted
Socrates → make → letters
The bird-god Theuth tells Thamos, the demigod king of Thebes, that literacy is “an elixir of memory and wisdom.” asserted
literacy → tell → memory
Thamos replies that it creates “forgetfulness” by slackening the memory and false wisdom, because the “ignorant” will read “without instruction.” asserted
ignorant → reply → instruction
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