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Cleartext: A text editor that only allows the 1,000 most common words in English

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191–200 of 230 posts

Re: Cleartext: A text editor that only allows the 1,000 most common words in English

#191

Attempting to type the Gettysburg Address, which is how I usually experiment with word processors and keyboards, is an exercise in futility. > Eight times ten and seven years ago our fathers brought into the world a new country, born of free thoughts and doings, and completely sold on the idea that all men are created the same.

Futility? It looks like an improvement on the original:

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

"free thoughts and doings" sounds clearer that "liberty", which could mean almost anything - did it have no prisons? I guess they really meant freedom from England's control, which isn't quite free thoughts and doings - that goes to show how poorly worded the original was.

Re: Cleartext: A text editor that only allows the 1,000 most common words in English

#192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this the syllogism? Trump uses political language political language makes murder respectable ------ Trump makes murder respectable Why focus on Trump then? Care to name a politician who's not using political language? That seems to be an oxymoron. Trump was against the Iraq War, probably the biggest killing event of the last xxx years.

No, this wasn't intended to slyly indicate that "Trump makes murder respectable". Were I to make that bold accusation I'd want to debate that on another forum than HN and base it on things Trump has actually stated. Regardless of politics, Trump has a very idiosyncratic approach to speaking. His mastery of this approach reminds me strongly of the Orwell essay linked above. I've no desire to debate Trumps policies on…

“I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters,” Trump said.

So in a way, yes, he has made murder respectable. The previous two POTUS' made murder respectable by using remote controlled flying bombs.

Re: Cleartext: A text editor that only allows the 1,000 most common words in English

#193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a much better approach would be to start with the 1000 most common words, but allow defining terms from there. This allows you to develop the correct jargon which will both enhance understanding and allow communication with others about the topic in the future. Having to continually fall back on silly terms like "up goer" does nothing to enhance understanding when you can define what a rocket is and then just…

If this colored or underlined words past the 1000 rank, instead of removing them, it would be less offensive to my sensibilities.

Amusing coincidence that readams above used "up goer", as the "up goer" editor does what you suggest :

http://splasho.com/upgoer5/

Re: Cleartext: A text editor that only allows the 1,000 most common words in English

#194
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With just the words "zero" and "one" strung together in some combination, we can describe a JPEG image, which can be a picture of anything. (For instance, a black and white scan of the word "deoxyribonucleic" in a Times Roman font).

The ability to describe anything says nothing about the clarity of the description

That's kinda the point.

Re: Cleartext: A text editor that only allows the 1,000 most common words in English

#195
The irony that four words in the title are not in that 1,000 (in quotes here)

A "text" "editor" that only allows the 1,000 most "common" words in "English.

As determined by a similar online version that merely underlines words outside the vocabulary :

http://splasho.com/upgoer5/

Re: Cleartext: A text editor that only allows the 1,000 most common words in English

#196

Am I the only one to find that using only the 1,000 most common words actually makes thing harder to understand? The writer ends up having to use convoluted paraphrases to refer to things where a precise, well defined and well understood word exists but it's not part of the top 1,000.

You're not, and you beat me to writing the same comment by 10 hours.

Writing is the problem of communicating ideas, and doing to to a sufficiently prepared audience, effectively.

The problem with stunts such as this -- and there are others, the "if you stop writing for 5 seconds your text starts disappearing" demo a few weeks back comes to mind -- is that they confuse the medium with the message.

Yes, it's possible to have confusing writing on account of unfamiliar terminology. That's a frequent problem with many Wikipedia articles, or much academic writing of the past few decades (older works -- say, 1950 and prior, to the 18th or even 17th century -- are often far clearer).

But the problem most often isn't just the vocabulary, it's the structure of the writing. Pop open a book of Darwin or Adam Smith (I've been reading both) and turn to a random page. Once you get over a slight old fashionedness of the writing, the thoughts are clear.

It is impossible to tell a narrative clearly if you've not organised your own thinking about it.

I've been doing a lot of thinking ... well, about a lot of things. One of those topics is of data and narrative, and the difference between a dry factual presentation (say, a data table, or a simple list of events) and a story which weaves these into a consistent whole. Our minds typically work very well with narrative, sometimes too well, as false narratives can be constructed. But the best presentations I've encountered include both solid facts and a story which ties them together. Finding an author who does this well and with skill is truly impressive.

And the good ones expand your vocabulary. Another point, and one to keep in mind.

There's also Einstein's dictum: make things as simple as possible, but no simpler. The same applies to language.

Re: Cleartext: A text editor that only allows the 1,000 most common words in English

#198
"Use it to tell your family members why their computers act up, or tell people at work why they should pay you more."

Very clever application. You could use this idea to only describe problems using a dictionary of known nouns/verbs to describe technical problems using a known vocabulary.

Re: Cleartext: A text editor that only allows the 1,000 most common words in English

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He speaks like a child, it works because his base is stupid and they relate. It's not a skill, he just isn't that bright.

If Trump honestly believed everything that he says, I would agree that his thinking would necessarily be shockingly _shallow_ on many issues. But to compare him to a four year old then make a sweeping statement like "isn't that bright" ? How could anyone think this? Isn't it obvious that there are domains in which he is, for better or worse, exceptionally intelligent within that domain?

The trouble is, of course, that those domains (persuasion, intimidation, and braggadocio) do not include those necessary to competently be POTUS.

Re: Cleartext: A text editor that only allows the 1,000 most common words in English

#200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but it's a fun writing exercise. If you write using a limited vocabulary and then fix the most convoluted paraphrases, you might end up in a better place than if you wrote it normally.

Which is sort of the joke. But yes, this is absolutely correct. Moreover, as with any language, the way to get better is to use it more/get more exposed to more parts of it.

Which is the joke. Absolutely correct. And – as with any language – the way to improve is to use it.

To paraphrase and copy-edit your perceptive comment. (The subject made me do it).

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