Re: [math-fun] Draft of my next blog post
I found it extremely annoying to read it. The author kept saying over and over he was not going to tell us what named initials were, and what named problems were. What the hell was he going to tell us? Who the hell cared -- I quit reading it before I found out. He still could not give me a single clue even after a whole page! I mean, there is such a thing as writing in a style guaranteed to annoy readers and make them say "this author is an asshole." Well: You found it. Your job as an author is to make it EASY for readers to learn. Pre-digest. Pre-think organization for maximum efficiency. Your job as an author is NOT to make is maximally hard for the reader because you enjoy masturbating in public.
I think Warren's response illustrates an important point about writing for a popular audience: a playful style that some readers find inviting can be really off-putting for other readers, and sometimes the amount of fun that a reader has in reading a piece is inversely related to the amount of fun the author seems to have had in writing it. I must have been having way too much fun if it comes across as masturbation! I've gone ahead and shortened the "here's what I'm not going to tell you" passage, whose wordy coyness seems to have so angered Warren (and which two other readers also found excessive; thanks for those comments). I'm still finding my voice as a popularizer, and I welcome input along the lines of "Here's what you're doing, and here's what Steve Strogatz is doing, and here's why his approach is better." (You can replace Strogatz by Ellenberg or Gardner or other seasoned popularizers.) Saying "You come across as an asshole" is not so helpful. But I also think Warren and I have disagreements about what writing is for. He speaks of prose that's organized for "maximum efficiency". I have always wanted my essays to be as much about the pleasure of reading as about the information gained thereby. Jim On Thu, Jan 7, 2016 at 12:21 PM, Warren D Smith <warren.wds@gmail.com> wrote:
I found it extremely annoying to read it. The author kept saying over and over he was not going to tell us what named initials were, and what named problems were. What the hell was he going to tell us? Who the hell cared -- I quit reading it before I found out. He still could not give me a single clue even after a whole page! I mean, there is such a thing as writing in a style guaranteed to annoy readers and make them say "this author is an asshole." Well: You found it.
Your job as an author is to make it EASY for readers to learn. Pre-digest. Pre-think organization for maximum efficiency.
Your job as an author is NOT to make is maximally hard for the reader because you enjoy masturbating in public.
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While there is an obvious reply to this post, it is perhaps more courteous to avoid the descent into nastiness that is so typical of many forums. -- Gene From: Gareth McCaughan <gareth.mccaughan@pobox.com> To: math-fun@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Thursday, January 7, 2016 12:37 PM Subject: Re: [math-fun] Draft of my next blog post On 07/01/2016 17:21, Warren D Smith wrote:
I mean, there is such a thing as writing in a style guaranteed to annoy readers and make them say "this author is an asshole." Well: You found it.
Congratulations! So did you. -- g
participants (4)
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Eugene Salamin -
Gareth McCaughan -
James Propp -
Warren D Smith