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    <title>Pavlos Lykakis — Writing</title>
    <link>https://lykakis.dev/</link>
    <description>Articles on software engineering, communication, and the craft of writing by Pavlos Lykakis.</description>
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    <lastBuildDate>Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT</lastBuildDate>
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      <title><![CDATA[The Space Between What We Say and What We Mean.]]></title>
      <link>https://lykakis.dev/articles/what-we-say-what-we-mean</link>
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      <pubDate>Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[A reflection on communication gaps, unconscious bias, and why understanding each other requires more than just choosing the right words.]]></description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 id="the-space-between-what-we-say-and-what-we-mean" tabindex="-1">The Space Between What We Say and What We Mean. <a class="header-anchor" href="#the-space-between-what-we-say-and-what-we-mean" aria-label="Permalink to &quot;The Space Between What We Say and What We Mean.&quot;">&ZeroWidthSpace;</a></h1>
<p>Communication. Something essential, something we do every day with many ways, yet also something that usually needs to work on more.</p>
<p>I have seen this gap of communication either in professional, or personal relationships. There is always a gap that we need to fill. Depending on the effort we put in, we eventually figure it out. In most cases, I have seen that the main issue is that what is said does not always reach the other person's head, due to bias restrictions. This is created by many parameters. Our mind keeps track of many details that we are not aware of, it makes conclusions on its own, and all this is unconscious. I learn that from a book <em>Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior</em> by Leonard Mlodinow</p>
<p>The one that helped me understand this, was a paradigm in the last chapter, which said that it is like having a strong lawyer on your head and a weak scientist. The lawyer once has a case, he tries to find EVERY clue that can help its case, ignoring the rest parameters. The scientist then tries to balance this, by showing other info as well. I have seen myself since then, how often this might happen. How often you have to doubt actually, that lawyer, (which is you and your ego). Once you zoom out of this, you can improve your communication. Give space to the scientist. Give space to other perspectives, and try to understand the deeper reasons behind an argument. People could unintentionally hide the real problems (for many reasons), you have to dig in, having empathy. Empathy helps us build that communication gap.</p>
<p>Approaching people with the belief that their intentions are mostly good changes the way we communicate. It makes us more curious and less defensive. Maybe the goal of communication is not to prove who is right. Maybe it is to understand each other well enough that we no longer need to fight.</p>
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      <title><![CDATA[Knowledge Isn't Meant to Stay in Your Head]]></title>
      <link>https://lykakis.dev/articles/knowledge-sharing</link>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Why sharing what you learn matters more than waiting until you know enough. A reflection on publishing imperfect ideas and the value of knowledge that circulates.]]></description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 id="knowledge-isn-t-meant-to-stay-in-your-head" tabindex="-1">Knowledge Isn't Meant to Stay in Your Head <a class="header-anchor" href="#knowledge-isn-t-meant-to-stay-in-your-head" aria-label="Permalink to &quot;Knowledge Isn't Meant to Stay in Your Head&quot;">&ZeroWidthSpace;</a></h1>
<p>Learning, exploring, and understanding those things are rewarding. But they feel incomplete until they're shared.</p>
<p>However, every time I considered publishing something, the same thoughts appeared:</p>
<p><em>I should understand this topic more deeply first.</em></p>
<p>That day never came. And I realized it probably never would. In fact, the more you know, <a href="https://oreil.ly/VWusg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">the more you know you don't know</a>.</p>
<p>So… Here is the first step.</p>
<p>The strange thing is that software engineering taught me the opposite lesson.</p>
<p>We don't wait until software is perfect before releasing it. We ship it. We put it into production. We gather feedback. We iterate. We improve.</p>
<p>But when it comes to ideas, we often expect version 1.0 to be flawless.</p>
<p>The result is that valuable knowledge remains private.</p>
<p>Not because it lacks value, but because it never gets the chance to create any.</p>
<p>An idea becomes more useful the more people build on it.</p>
<p>Someone might read a small tip that saves them an hour. Someone else might point out where I'm wrong. Another person might connect it to something I've never considered.</p>
<p>Once shared, knowledge stops being static. It evolves.</p>
<p>This is a place to document what I discover, clarify my own thinking, and hopefully make someone else's path a little shorter.</p>
<p>Some posts will be small observations. Others might be deeper explorations. Many of them will probably change as I learn more.</p>
<p>That's okay. Ideas don't need to be perfect before they deserve to exist.</p>
<p>They just need to be shared.</p>
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