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Hemingway App now available

hemingwayapp.com

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Re: Hemingway App now available

#31

Post by jasonkester »

ivansavz wrote: post #22
jasonkester wrote: post #16

Ironic that an app calling itself "Hemingway" would recommend against the word "Utilize". As a key example of "things to avoid" no less. Utilized in one of the more memorable exchanges in The Sun Also Rises: "Let us rejoice in our blessings. Let us utilize the fowls of the air. Let us utilize the product of the vine. Will you utilize a little, brother?" ... and so on for nearly ten pages, utilizing wine, pubs, etc. h…

So you're one of those people who like to use "utilize." I've always thought the word is used willy-nilly by people with feeble minds in order to "sound fancy," but you seem like an alright guy. Could you tell me why you'd want to use "utilize" instead of "use"? Do you intend a different meaning e.g. make-use-of-in-unexpeded-way, or do you see them as synonyms? To me, it sounds horrible---a buzzword and a French-isis…

So you're one of those people who like to use "utilize."

Far from it. Looks like this is the first time I've ever typed it:

https://hn.algolia.com/?q=jasonkester+utilize#!/all/forever/...

Hemingway is, though. A quick google search shows that he also has written "helpfully" a few times in his novels, which is another forbidden word in the app we're discussing.

That's what we're doing, by the way: discussing a piece of software. Try not to get too worked up.

Re: Hemingway App now available

#36

Post by bronson »

o0-0o wrote: post #8

Just for giggles, I ran the Satya Nadella letter[1] through here, and this is what I got: 39 of 186 sentences are hard to read. 35 of 186 sentences are very hard to read. 35 adverbs. Aim for 17 or fewer. 26 words or phrases can be simpler. 15 uses of passive voice. Aim for 37 or fewer. [1] http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/ceo/index.html

Ha, good idea. That still seems too good a score. Maybe it should also flag lazy CEO words like harmonize, energizing, innovation, dialogue, synthesize, ubiquitous, ambient intelligence, digitize, maximize, empower, enable, ... etc.

(Unless used for their original meaning, of course.)

Any one is no big deal, but at one per sentence... oof.

Re: Hemingway App now available

#37

Post by soperj »

louhike wrote: post #20
jasonkester wrote: post #16

Ironic that an app calling itself "Hemingway" would recommend against the word "Utilize". As a key example of "things to avoid" no less. Utilized in one of the more memorable exchanges in The Sun Also Rises: "Let us rejoice in our blessings. Let us utilize the fowls of the air. Let us utilize the product of the vine. Will you utilize a little, brother?" ... and so on for nearly ten pages, utilizing wine, pubs, etc. h…

Hemingway App is a tool useful is you're not a great writer. If you want to write something original, or magic, you better not use it. I understand that you might not be criticizing the app directly, but as you are the top comment, I thought it would be useful as a reminder.

I don't think that's necessarily true. I think you can use it to quickly identify passages that may need more work. As with all suggestions, take them with a grain of salt, but so far even with highly edited work, I find it can be useful.

Re: Hemingway App now available

#38

Post by genericuser »

jaxn wrote: post #27
ivansavz wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you're one of those people who like to use "utilize." I've always thought the word is used willy-nilly by people with feeble minds in order to "sound fancy," but you seem like an alright guy. Could you tell me why you'd want to use "utilize" instead of "use"? Do you intend a different meaning e.g. make-use-of-in-unexpeded-way, or do you see them as synonyms? To me, it sounds horrible---a buzzword and a French-isis…

To me, "utilize" means to use properly. It has a positive connotation that "use" does not. edit: dictionary.com seems to agree. "to put to use; turn to profitable account"

I also consider it to mean proper use of something. But figured it was just me ascribing extra meaning.

For instance, (assuming no context is provided) if someone said they utilized a fire extinguisher I would assume they meant to put out a fire. If they said they used a fire extinguisher, I would be wondering what they used it for (to propel an office chair , kill a mouse, cool their beer). Context of course almost always exists.

Re: Hemingway App now available

#39

Post by tnorthcutt »

uncletaco wrote: post #34

Is the laptop on the front page a hackintosh? Or does the app default to OSX style windows on startup? Someone bite the bullet and tell me.

It's just a screenshot of the Mac app, placed on a placeit stage: https://placeit.net/#!/stages/laptop-restaurant-wooden-table
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