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The Best Essay

paulgraham.com

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Re: The Best Essay

#231

Post by basil-rash »

bdjsiqoocwk wrote: post #230
basil-rash wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Claims without support are nothing too. In other words: example?

Ok here's an example. Henry Heimlich used "the heimlich maneuver" for the first time when he was 96 (in 2016), 40 years after inventing it, in the "senior home" where he was staying. But according to you, having invented was nothing in the first 40 years, because he didn't actually use it, never mind that it was used by others and taught as a life saving technique. You're just beathtakingly ignorant of how progress a…

You’re so caught up in insulting me, you never stopped to think of I’d consider inventing a novel medical technique an “application” of knowledge. I would.

If all he did was read books about things other people did, he certainly would not have invented that.

Your following attempt at armchair psychology is humorous, but not much beyond that I’m afraid. Don’t quit your dayjob.

Re: The Best Essay

#232

Post by sujumayas »

"One thing I like in an initial question is outrageousness. I love questions that seem naughty in some way — for example, by seeming counterintuitive or overambitious or heterodox. Ideally all three. This essay is an example. Writing about the best essay implies there is such a thing, which pseudo-intellectuals will dismiss as reductive, though it follows necessarily from the possibility of one essay being better than another. And thinking about how to do something so ambitious is close enough to doing it that it holds your attention."

This is pure gold.

Re: The Best Essay

#233

Post by Tycho »

Maybe at the limit the best essay becomes a poem: a beautiful piece of writing that explores interesting ideas, yet always leaves room for new and different interpretations, even by the same reader.

Re: The Best Essay

#234

Post by bdjsiqoocwk »

basil-rash wrote: post #231
bdjsiqoocwk wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok here's an example. Henry Heimlich used "the heimlich maneuver" for the first time when he was 96 (in 2016), 40 years after inventing it, in the "senior home" where he was staying. But according to you, having invented was nothing in the first 40 years, because he didn't actually use it, never mind that it was used by others and taught as a life saving technique. You're just beathtakingly ignorant of how progress a…

You’re so caught up in insulting me, you never stopped to think of I’d consider inventing a novel medical technique an “application” of knowledge. I would. If all he did was read books about things other people did, he certainly would not have invented that. Your following attempt at armchair psychology is humorous, but not much beyond that I’m afraid. Don’t quit your dayjob.

My dayjob is as psychologist. No joke.

And my specialty is spotting morons on social media.

Re: The Best Essay

#235

Post by lukas099 »

tomgp wrote: post #225

What a strange essay! To try to find out what makes a good (sorry "THE BEST") essay without any reference to any of the great essays that have actually been written? It feels a bit like the head of a university's English department setting out to discover "the best computer program" but without talking to or refering to the work of any of the thousands of people who've made it their life to study and practice the cra…

There's value in people trying to derive things from first principles sometimes. It can lead to something unique, like outsider art.

Re: The Best Essay

#236

Post by dambi0 »

Is it overly reductionist to wonder whether the difference between, “Which of these is best?” versus “Is that your best effort?”, deserves more than a footnote?

Re: The Best Essay

#237

Post by dmux »

yellow_lead wrote: post #153
calf wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I admired Paul Graham's blog posts.. when I was an impressionable college sophomore. Then I guess after I went to grad school and actually read a lot and tried to do some science and research. I find this kind of popular writing superficial, flawed, inefficient, and even conceited. That's just my subjective experience. But it seems some young people in tech just lap it up, he functions as a kind of thought leader for…

I think if you've ever read self help books, the content is quite similar. It is the kind of writing that seems insightful at first glance because it restates somewhat obvious things in new ways. I'm not saying that his arguments are 'wrong' persay, it's just that it's not particularly original or interesting.

>It is the kind of writing that seems insightful at first glance because it restates somewhat obvious things in new ways. I'm not saying that his arguments are 'wrong' persay, it's just that it's not particularly original or interesting.

You're spot on. Looking to this very comment section, you have people calling this line out as being enlightening:

>While breadth comes from reading and talking and seeing, depth comes from doing.

I would hope this is self evident to anyone who has ever tried _anything_.

Re: The Best Essay

#238

Post by dambi0 »

gizmo wrote: post #26

> Writing about the best essay implies there is such a thing, which pseudo-intellectuals will dismiss as reductive, though it follows necessarily from the possibility of one essay being better than another. What is the best car? Some cars are real stinkers. It's not hard to find cars that are better than Zastava Yugo in every way. For most cars you can find other cars that are in the same class, but just better. Clea…

This struck me too. I think we can do better than appeal to insult. Especially given the potential technical mistake. It’s quite disappointing, in a way.

Re: The Best Essay

#239

Post by barbariangrunge »

tomgp wrote: post #225

What a strange essay! To try to find out what makes a good (sorry "THE BEST") essay without any reference to any of the great essays that have actually been written? It feels a bit like the head of a university's English department setting out to discover "the best computer program" but without talking to or refering to the work of any of the thousands of people who've made it their life to study and practice the cra…

> For example, Darwin first described the idea of natural selection in an essay written in 1844. [1] Talk about an important topic you could tell people something surprising about. If that's the test of a great essay, this was surely the best one written in 1844.

I think he's speaking broadly about what counts as an essay, and does have at least one example in there to illustrate his point. He's also an esteemed essay writer, and I think it's fair for him to talk about what he values in an essay without needing to justify any of it by saying "and also, this person that some people respect did it like that"

Re: The Best Essay

#240

Post by grantc »

Claude says (or, tl;pillm):

Q. How well--perhaps on a scale of 1 to 10--does this essay follow its own recommendations? Is it a great essay by its own standards?

A. The essay "The Best Essay" does follow many of its own recommendations, but it also falls short in a few areas. Let's evaluate the essay based on the 10 rules it sets out for writing great essays.

Important topic with surprising insights: 8/10. The topic of what makes a great essay is important for writers, and the author provides some surprising insights, such as the idea that the best essay would be about a groundbreaking scientific or technological discovery.

Compelling question: 7/10. The essay starts with the question of what the best essay would be like, which is interesting but not as compelling as it could be.

Thinking out loud and refining: 9/10. The author does an excellent job of thinking out loud and refining their ideas throughout the essay.

Recursive process: 8/10. The essay follows a recursive process, with responses generating further questions and exploration.

Cutting content: 6/10. While the author mentions cutting a 17-paragraph subtree, it's unclear how much unnecessary content remains in the essay.

Following novelty and generality: 7/10. The essay explores novel ideas but could have delved deeper into some of the more interesting tangents.

Writing about interesting topics: 9/10. The author is clearly interested in the topic of essay writing and what makes essays great.

Breadth and depth of knowledge: 8/10. The author demonstrates a broad knowledge of essay writing and related topics, but the depth could be further developed in some areas.

Aiming for timelessness: 7/10. The essay discusses the concept of timelessness but doesn't fully achieve it, as some of the ideas may not be surprising to readers well-versed in essay writing.

Discovering ideas through questions and answers: 8/10. The essay does explore ideas through asking questions and refining answers, but the most valuable questions could have been pursued further.

Overall, the essay scores well in following its own advice, with an average score of around 7.7/10. However, it falls short of being a truly great essay by its own standards. The author could have pushed further in exploring the most compelling questions, cutting unnecessary content, and aiming for more timeless insights. Nonetheless, it remains a thought-provoking and insightful piece on the art of essay writing.

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