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Write Simply

paulgraham.com

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Re: Write Simply

#261

Post by randomsearch »

keiferski wrote: post #118
andy_ppp wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you explain that? As an engineer I think generally anything that can be done more simply is nearly always better.

Not the parent poster, but: think of speed bumps. They force you to slow down and pay more attention to the road. Some writers, particularly post-modern ones, aim at the same thing. By forcing you to read their works carefully, you'll (in theory) be forced to think about them more.

That feels like the author is saying “I’m so clever you need to be told when to think about this,” whereas i would prefer to think at my own pace, without deliberate obfuscation, thanks very much.

If it’s a work of art, fair enough. If you’re trying to explain or argue something... then you’re probably hiding the holes in your argument or trying to sound smarter than you are.

Re: Write Simply

#262

Post by randomsearch »

clwk wrote: post #182

I think we have Hemingway to blame for this meme. I wonder why so very many authors feel the need to explicitly write these 'simple ode to simplicity' pieces — where each sentence in the exhortation has itself been optimized iteratively until no waste remains, so no lexical pixel has gone to waste. Sentences like 'Simple writing also lasts better,' are the unfortunate artifacts of this process. These are like the Tes…

Na, I think he just got that wrong. If he revisited the essay after a few years he’d probably spot it. Stuck out for me too. But a kind of “snow blindness” develops towards written content after a while, and mistakes slip through.

Re: Write Simply

#263

Post by hntrader »

andy_ppp wrote: post #107
ycombinete wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having read a fair amount of Zizek and some Foucault I have to agree. Obfuscation can be just as useful as clarity.

Can you explain that? As an engineer I think generally anything that can be done more simply is nearly always better.

The pretension is the point. The readers want to come across as sophisticated by claiming to have understood impenetrable gibberish.

Re: Write Simply

#264

Post by randomsearch »

villasv wrote: post #166

Pinker wrote a whole book about this, much better written, in fact. Unlike an HN essayist, Pinker also is an actual wide-audience best-seller. And unlike this essay, Pinker correctly acknowledges many nuances.

A book is longer than an essay, therefore more nuances can potentially be captured?

Re: Write Simply

#267

Post by ganafagol »

whalesalad wrote: post #253
thanhhaimai wrote: post #251

Am I the only one not very fond of this style of writing? It's the constant pauses and hiccups that I'm reading. Four paragraphs into it, and I still don't get a lot of information about what the author is trying to convey. In good essays, the first and last sentence in a paragraph are often enough to summarize the points. It helps set the context, and makes it much easier for the reader to make a mental map of the o…

I normally have a very hard time reading his essays.

Could you elaborate?

FWIW, it's unclear what you mean. "Normally" as in "usually, but not this one" or "usually, and this one too"? Two exact opposites, and in just one sentence you managed to be maximally ambiguous. If done on purpose, that's a skill. But, without intending to offend, I think you just don't realize how hard simple writing actually is. I think he succeeded in it very well.

Re: Write Simply

#268

Post by AnimalMuppet »

I think this is "writing too simply", at least for me. PG's essays have hit the sweet spot of delivering the ideas without the words getting in the way. But here, he tried to write even more simply, and destroyed what made his essays attractive. Sure, the words are simple, but the over-simple words are creating an impedance mismatch for delivering the ideas. At least for me.

Re: Write Simply

#269

Post by maya24 »

Maybe hologram should also think about writing more succinctly. He could have gotten across this message in half the words.
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