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Cormac McCarthy's tips on how to write a science paper (2019) [pdf]

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Re: Cormac McCarthy's tips on how to write a science paper (2019) [pdf]

#11

Post by paulpauper »

kylecazar wrote: post #2

"Use minimalism to achieve clarity. While you are writing, ask yourself: is it possible to preserve my original message without that punctuation mark, that word, that sentence, that paragraph or that section?" This echoes advice I first read in Strunk & White. It remains the most actionable tip for better writing I'm aware of, technical or otherwise. Aside: I consider McCarthy's residency at SFI an ideal job

Aside: I consider McCarthy's residency at SFI an ideal job

This is a testament to just how multifaceted he was.

Re: Cormac McCarthy's tips on how to write a science paper (2019) [pdf]

#12

Post by ddawson »

wintercarver wrote: post #3

Would love to read any of the scientific papers that McCarthy supposedly edited diligently, should anyone happen to know of some. Very curious to see what they read like.

Cormac McCarthy was deeply interested in physics and mathematics and was a trustee at the Santa Fe Institute, which has a heritage connected with Los Alamos National Laboratory. I don't know a lot about this side of him, only reading about it after reading his last two novels which do show a mastery of physics that really seemed to mirror his master of bridles and guns and culture in the old west. I don't remember reading that he had actually published any of this himself but he was spoken of as intensely curious about physics.

Re: Cormac McCarthy's tips on how to write a science paper (2019) [pdf]

#13

Post by marcuskaz »

sacredSatan wrote: post #9
marcuskaz wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, but he takes it too far. McCarthy's omission of punctuation makes his books difficult to understand who is saying what, and a challenge to follow especially with dialogue. The Road and No Country for Old Men both do not contain quotation marks for speech, and he omits the common speech tags like "he said" or "she exclaimed" which makes it a challenge to know who is saying what. It is a choice and the art form…

I agree about clarity, so this is just an aside but that's what makes it a fun experience for me. It's unlike reading anyone else (although I haven't read many authors). I'd say no country for old men was still pretty straightforward, but I had to re-read sentences and whole paragraphs with blood meridian. The work makes it worth it, makes it that much more rewarding to me personally. It's like choosing to play a dif…

I agree, his literary work is unique, and does take a bit more work to read, and with that it includes additional meaning behind it. For example, in The Road often times it doesn't even matter if its the boy or the man saying it.

However, I wouldn't take his advice on how to write for clarity. I too often found myself rereading paragraph, "wait is this description or dialogue", "who said that" - this is not what you want in scientific papers

Re: Cormac McCarthy's tips on how to write a science paper (2019) [pdf]

#14

Post by treetalker »

sfpotter wrote: post #6
kylecazar wrote: post #2

"Use minimalism to achieve clarity. While you are writing, ask yourself: is it possible to preserve my original message without that punctuation mark, that word, that sentence, that paragraph or that section?" This echoes advice I first read in Strunk & White. It remains the most actionable tip for better writing I'm aware of, technical or otherwise. Aside: I consider McCarthy's residency at SFI an ideal job

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."

Yet behaving consistently according to well-chosen rules is a path to probable prosperity and, often, greatness.

Re: Cormac McCarthy's tips on how to write a science paper (2019) [pdf]

#15

Post by aivuk »

wintercarver wrote: post #3

Would love to read any of the scientific papers that McCarthy supposedly edited diligently, should anyone happen to know of some. Very curious to see what they read like.

Not exactly a scientific paper, but he wrote this essay about language: https://nautil.us/the-kekul-problem-236574/

Re: Cormac McCarthy's tips on how to write a science paper (2019) [pdf]

#16

Post by cyrillite »

amelius wrote: post #5
kylecazar wrote: post #2

"Use minimalism to achieve clarity. While you are writing, ask yourself: is it possible to preserve my original message without that punctuation mark, that word, that sentence, that paragraph or that section?" This echoes advice I first read in Strunk & White. It remains the most actionable tip for better writing I'm aware of, technical or otherwise. Aside: I consider McCarthy's residency at SFI an ideal job

When I read papers I often think: if only the author had the space here to write two sentences instead of one, then perhaps I would immediately understand what they are trying to say.

Sometimes two sentences is the minimum necessary number of sentences, but everybody should be wary of that instinct

Re: Cormac McCarthy's tips on how to write a science paper (2019) [pdf]

#17

Post by greenie_beans »

marcuskaz wrote: post #4
kylecazar wrote: post #2

"Use minimalism to achieve clarity. While you are writing, ask yourself: is it possible to preserve my original message without that punctuation mark, that word, that sentence, that paragraph or that section?" This echoes advice I first read in Strunk & White. It remains the most actionable tip for better writing I'm aware of, technical or otherwise. Aside: I consider McCarthy's residency at SFI an ideal job

Sorry, but he takes it too far. McCarthy's omission of punctuation makes his books difficult to understand who is saying what, and a challenge to follow especially with dialogue. The Road and No Country for Old Men both do not contain quotation marks for speech, and he omits the common speech tags like "he said" or "she exclaimed" which makes it a challenge to know who is saying what. It is a choice and the art form…

technical writing and fiction writing are two totally different forms of writing. the ability to modulate between those disciplines is the sign of a good writer.

Re: Cormac McCarthy's tips on how to write a science paper (2019) [pdf]

#18

Post by auggierose »

treetalker wrote: post #14
sfpotter wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."

Yet behaving consistently according to well-chosen rules is a path to probable prosperity and, often, greatness.

I guess that means that machines will be greater than man could ever hope for.

Re: Cormac McCarthy's tips on how to write a science paper (2019) [pdf]

#19

Post by sfpotter »

treetalker wrote: post #14
sfpotter wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."

Yet behaving consistently according to well-chosen rules is a path to probable prosperity and, often, greatness.

What kind of greatness? Or prosperity? Well-chosen according to whom?

Re: Cormac McCarthy's tips on how to write a science paper (2019) [pdf]

#20

Post by greenie_beans »

mariusor wrote: post #7
marcuskaz wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, but he takes it too far. McCarthy's omission of punctuation makes his books difficult to understand who is saying what, and a challenge to follow especially with dialogue. The Road and No Country for Old Men both do not contain quotation marks for speech, and he omits the common speech tags like "he said" or "she exclaimed" which makes it a challenge to know who is saying what. It is a choice and the art form…

I would assume that his suggestions for clarity in "scientific papers" and his literary style don't overlap all that much to infer the former from the later.

> the former from the later

my writing advice:

never use the former and the latter

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