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How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

covingtoninnovations.com

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Re: How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

#31
One useful first step in becoming a better writer - in particular if your subject is complex - is to to delete your Twitter account and never look at another Twitter thread. Character limits kill creativity and complexity.

The presentation does leave out one very necessary requirement for becoming a good-to-great writer: you have to do a lot of reading. If you're going to write about a complex scientific or technical subject, you should have some examples in mind of great texts that you've read. What did other writers do that you liked or that stuck with you? Equally true, what are some really bad examples, some things to avoid?

For example, here's what I think is an excellent popular history book, and if I ever wrote something with a historical bent, I'd flip though it first: "By Steppe, Desert, and Ocean: The Birth of Eurasia" by Barry Cunliffe

https://www.amazon.com/Steppe-Desert-Ocean-Birth-Eurasia/dp/...

The point about Twitter is really this: you have to develop the skill of composing a paragraph as a coherent entity in order to become a decent writer, and Twitter doesn't allow for paragraphs, just sentences (and short ones at that). Paragraphs should have an internal cohesion to help the reader absorb the concept being presented. Once you have that, you can start chaining paragraphs together, reordering the sequence of paragraphs, with the goal of constructing a path that the reader can follow through the whole essay or chapter. Getting the order right is important for complex topics, as point D might rely on a good understanding of points A and B, and so on. Your goal should be to make the reader feel smart.

Of course that's just advice for non-fiction writing; if you're doing fiction or poetry basically anything goes. The public might like it or hate it, but the literary critics can safely be ignored.

Re: How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

#32

I like this. I'm diving into the zettlekasten thing after reading How to Take Smart Notes , and stopping to think about how I write so that it's as simple and clear as possible, while still being informative enough for my future self is what flexes my head muscle the most. This complements it nicely.

How to Take Smart Notes is hands down one of my favorite books and I incorporate a lot of the lessons learned in both my personal and professional life.

Yeah I think that book is actually a great read. Too bad the name is that way --- it is a lot more than about taking notes.

Re: How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

#33

Something that's coming to mind while reading this is how much company communication these days happens almost exclusively on Slack, and how antithetical that format can be to writing and thinking clearly.

Yes, I'm still smarting from this default behavoir that pressing "return" sends the message instead of starting a new paragraph. My thoughts usually run to more than one paragraph, and I like to edit before I send. I supposes that's not "chat", but then again written is not oral. (side note-- again, two paragraphs, plus self-commentary)

You can use SHIFT-RETURN in Slack/Discord to insert a newline. Maybe not great for RSI, but it's muscle memory now.

Re: How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

#34
Make it Clear by Patrick Henry Winston [0] is slightly related to this. I learned a lot of things from it.

I first got to know about him through his now famous video- How to Speak [1].

[0]: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/make-it-clear

[1]: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Unzc731iCUY

Re: How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

#35

Something that's coming to mind while reading this is how much company communication these days happens almost exclusively on Slack, and how antithetical that format can be to writing and thinking clearly.

I've suggested creating a company forum at a few different places, but it's always received like a strange idea that nobody will actually engage with or give any thought to. Email, Slack, etc, none of them create a good long term record that outsiders and newcomers can consume. Some companies have a wiki, but I've never seen them used. Forums are good for long form communication, people can put in more effort knowing…

Our team has begun using GitHub Discussions for this purpose, and it's actually pretty good. I've been actively trying to push conversations there from Slack, but some people still seem really hesitant to use it. Or even worse, some people seem to try to use it like a chat application, sending a bunch of short and quick replies, rather than letting the conversation evolve slowly and async.

Re: How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

#36

One useful first step in becoming a better writer - in particular if your subject is complex - is to to delete your Twitter account and never look at another Twitter thread. Character limits kill creativity and complexity. The presentation does leave out one very necessary requirement for becoming a good-to-great writer: you have to do a lot of reading. If you're going to write about a complex scientific or technical…

Limitations and bounds generally allow me to explore a smaller creative space without tangents. I think this is a generally accepted trope in creative domains.

There's also the fact that a swath of the world stopped reading after high school. If accessibility and reach are a goal of a piece of writing, Twitter sort of forces a writer to compress an idea and move on.

Who knows how many people I lost even with just this short comment. I guess it's about end goals.

Re: How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

#39
post #17

Very useful for learners of all ages. I haven't read a 125-page deck completely for a while.

It seems a little strange that the author uses a slide deck to explain how to write more clearly, but then I only read the first dozen slides. Maybe later he makes a convincing case that an outline is the ultimate form of clear writing?

Re: How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

#40

One useful first step in becoming a better writer - in particular if your subject is complex - is to to delete your Twitter account and never look at another Twitter thread. Character limits kill creativity and complexity. The presentation does leave out one very necessary requirement for becoming a good-to-great writer: you have to do a lot of reading. If you're going to write about a complex scientific or technical…

I agree very much. The whole document in the OP reads like someone who lost his Twitter account and is trying to communicate in PPT.
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