Please learn to learn
Please learn to write
101–110 of 124 posts
Re: Please learn to write
#102Source of my problems: design issues 5% architecture constraints 5% language shortcomings 1% mental blocks 5% personal time management 4% personal energy 5% communication with others 75% I waste more time just trying to figure out what others are trying to say, sometimes in person and by voice, but mostly in writing. For most emails, I have to click "reply" or call back simply because what you're trying to tell me is…
The way you learn to write well is by reading. And of course it makes a difference what you read. Learning how to do anything well takes practice. But you will not become a good writer unless you read. As for what you should read, "Garbage in, garbage out." What do you think are the effects on your writing from reading blogs like "codinghorror"? If your aim is to be a better written communicator in business, then you…
While reading helps to improve your understanding of what makes good writing, I feel writing regularly is more important. You need to learn to foster your own ideas through writing, being careful not to just think what others write.
"For ever reading, never to be read." - The Dunciad III
Re: Please learn to write
#103Earlier quoted context omitted.
The way you learn to write well is by reading. And of course it makes a difference what you read. Learning how to do anything well takes practice. But you will not become a good writer unless you read. As for what you should read, "Garbage in, garbage out." What do you think are the effects on your writing from reading blogs like "codinghorror"? If your aim is to be a better written communicator in business, then you…
While reading helps to improve your understanding of what makes good writing, I feel writing regularly is more important. You need to learn to foster your own ideas through writing, being careful not to just think what others write. "For ever reading, never to be read." - The Dunciad III
Right. But if you only ever write and rarely ever read your writing will not be as good. Reading is essential to good writing. The quote you use is encouraging the reader to write, but it also presupposes that the reader is well read ("A lumberhouse of books in every head"). Maybe that's not a coincindence.
Is there a difference in encouraging a "scholiast wit" to write versus encouraging a "dimwitted blogger"?
Re: Please learn to write
#104Writing strikes me as providing different fundamental skills. Here's the rub: computer languages are entirely prescriptive-- behavior is defined by the compiler. Natural languages are defined entirely by usage and here the descriptivists rule. Even in hyper-defined jargons like legalese, interpretation matters and there is no single, objective reference point.
I believe everyone should learn to code trivial programs. I also think there is great value in truly mastering one's own language (and I say this as one who can fluently read Middle English and who can parse my way through Old English given some time). But they are different skills. You can't get them all from one or the other.
If you want to compare writing to programming, then you should consider comparing it to writing portable software in a language where every reader has coded his/her own compilers based on their own unique understandings of the standards! But writing isn't the same as coding.....
Re: Please learn to write
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did I just end that sentence with a preposition? A preposition is a perfectly acceptable thing to end a sentence with. Seriously. If you find yourself re-writing it as "with which to end a sentence" you're going to come across as stilted and awkward.
Eschewing trailing prepositions is a rule improperly inherited from Latin. It does not apply to Germanic tongues where prepositions are necessary to disambiguate verbs. For example, to ask about, to ask of, to ask to, and to ask in are very quite distinct. In Latin, the default position of the verb is the end of the sentence. Latin word order isn't fixed like English, so the ordering of words is a form of emphasis, a…
It isn't fixed like English, but parts of it are indeed fixed, prepositions being one of them. The issue isn't that putting a preposition at the end of a sentence in Latin gives the preposition undue emphasis, but rather that you simply can't put a preposition at the end of a sentence in Latin[1]. Ending an English sentence with an article would be roughly similar in terms of nonsensicality. As for Joyce, well, you know he's binomeans to be comprendered!
1. It's the same with split infinitives, which you just can't do in Latin short of tmesis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tmesis#Latin).
Re: Please learn to write
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
While reading helps to improve your understanding of what makes good writing, I feel writing regularly is more important. You need to learn to foster your own ideas through writing, being careful not to just think what others write. "For ever reading, never to be read." - The Dunciad III
Right. But if you only ever write and rarely ever read your writing will not be as good. Reading is essential to good writing. The quote you use is encouraging the reader to write, but it also presupposes that the reader is well read ("A lumberhouse of books in every head"). Maybe that's not a coincindence. Is there a difference in encouraging a "scholiast wit" to write versus encouraging a "dimwitted blogger"?
Yes, I agree. Like all things it's a balance. In looking to refine skills everyone will require tuning in different areas. A programmer may be great at writing code but often fails to identify re-use of libraries/patterns. Reading others' code and technical articles may assist him/her in developing in that area. Likewise you may be able to tell when a writer lacks a 'lumberhouse of books'.
Being aware of why you are not developing a skill is probably key -- review from others helps to provide insight into potential underdeveloped areas.
Re: Please learn to write
#107If you're willing to spend a few dollars to improve your writing, buy "Style: Toward Clarity and Grace" by Joseph Williams (http://www.amazon.com/Style-Clarity-Chicago-Writing-Publishi...). It's far better than a list of rules; it breaks down sentence and paragraph construction and shows you exactly how to write more clearly (and less academically). And it accomplishes this very quickly, with a marked improvement in your writing after only a couple chapters.
Re: Please learn to write
#108Communication isn't one-way.
There are billions of people and plenty of languages out there (nearly 200 are spoken by at least a few million people per language, if you go by the list on Wikipedia).
We live in a world where most co-workers have probably had to claw their way up to their current language proficiency.
People who only know one language can't really complain about poor communication. Both people in a conversation have a responsibility to work at closing any gaps, and frankly a native speaker has more than 50% of that responsibility.
Even if you have learned another language, do you really know how tough it could possibly be? For example, have you learned to read, write, speak, swear and slang in the 2nd language to the point where no one will misunderstand you? And here's the real test: is the alphabet the same as your native language or is it something totally new?
I grew up with English. I spent years learning to read, write and speak French, and while this gave me some appreciation for the difficulty in learning a language it was still the same letters, similar words and a few new rules. I've since invested a lot of time in learning basic Japanese and that is something I'd recommend to anyone who thinks they're an expert at a language.
You have to try something completely unlike anything you've ever seen before you understand what a chore it must be for others to try to communicate with you.
Re: Please learn to write
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did I just end that sentence with a preposition? A preposition is a perfectly acceptable thing to end a sentence with. Seriously. If you find yourself re-writing it as "with which to end a sentence" you're going to come across as stilted and awkward.
Unless writing for a scientific journal, or some other such formal setting, your goal of clear communication will be best served by using a casual, conversational style that resonates as closely as possible with how you would talk to your reader in person. That means prepositions are very much something you can end a sentence with. And you can start one with a conjunctive too, if it feels right. The rules of grammar…
I think we'd be better served using such styles in scientific journals more often.
As an example, here's a wonderfully written article by the late statistician, Jacob Cohen: http://www.ics.uci.edu/~sternh/courses/210/cohen94_pval.pdf
Re: Please learn to write
#110Maybe the thought of people who do know how to communicate, such as Mayor Bloomberg, learning to code is bothersome to Jeff Atwood. If so, consider why. My concern is that Bloomberg is just looking for money. He may have no interest in how a computer works. If he could code, what sort of programs would he write? For example, with respect to the desktop and the web, many "coders" write programs that are a constant gam…
you know, now that i think about it, the first question really ought to be, why the hell does the man who brought us the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomberg_Terminal bloomberg terminal need to "learn to code"? is he just talking about updating his skills, or has he actually been running one of the world's biggest data companies for more than thirty years without knowing how to program?
Mike graduated with an EE degree in 1964. He worked his way up from an entry level job on Wall St to overseeing equity trading / running information systems at Salomon. There was never any reason for him to code given the programmers working for him. It was a way less accessible skill in the 80s.