There’s an old joke that goes like this: Descartes walks into a bar and the bartender asks him “Would you like a drink?” to which Descartes replies “I think not” and immediately disappears. Get it? If not, here’s a quick primer on ‘I think, therefore I am’…

Cogito ergo sum (French: Je pense donc je suis; English: I think, therefore I am) is a philosophical Latin statement proposed by René Descartes. The simple meaning of the phrase is that someone wondering whether or not he exists is, in and of itself, proof that he does exist (because, at the very least, there is an “I” who does the thinking).^[1]

The phrase became a fundamental element of Western philosophy. It forms a sort of bedrock for all knowledge, because, while all things can be questioned as to whether they are from the realm of reality or from some figment of imagination (a dream, influence of a demon, etc.), the very act of doubting one’s own existence serves as proof of the reality of one’s own existence.

The statement is sometimes given as Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum (English: “I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am”),^[2] although this extension was never used by Descartes himself and it is potentially misleading, as it suggests that Descartes’ argument is based on doubt, whereas it is inherent in any mental activity whatsoever.

Me? I ‘blog therefore I am’ — blogito ergo sum! What good does it do to be a great thinker if your thoughts are not searchable, findable, knowable, usable and shareable to the almost 2 billion people on the internet? It’s a little like the old philosophical riddle ‘If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, did it make a sound?’. [My version is, 'if a man says something in the forest and no woman hears him, is he still wrong?'] While a thinker and a thought leader both have a point of view, the thinker limits herself to word of mouth unless she has a public platform to share her thoughts. By publishing her thoughts on a blog enabled website that’s easy to update on a regular basis, the thinker has a shot at becoming a thought leader. Her blog gives her a share of voice, which could lead to share of mind, which could lead to share of market…

This past week I launched a new site for Silicon Valley thought leader Nilofer Merchant at http://nilofermerchant.com/. She’s brainy and beautiful and brilliant, but how would you know unless she posted content like this on her site?

Follow @nilofer and you will understand how a blog builds thought leadership!

But wait! What is ‘curato’? Curato is ‘I curate’, so ‘I curate, therefore I blog, therefore I am’ — curato, ergo blogito, ergo sum. Hold that thought for part 2 of this post…