I’ve been giving a number of talks lately about my work, and I’ve been noticing how each successive talk has been informed by the talks that came before it. In fact, it has become very clear to me that such a talk — particularly when the talk involves live demos — is a kind of laboratory.
The process of teaching is, of course, also a process of learning, but it’s more than that. Talking about the work is an important part of doing the work.
It’s like of like the reason a singer/songwriter goes on tour: You need to put your songs out there, and invite a kind of collaboration with your listeners.