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One of the things you'll probably not notice about this article, although you can be certain a lot of effort went into it, is the simplicity of language and sen
by jawns 10y ago
One of the things you'll probably not notice about this article, although you can be certain a lot of effort went into it, is the simplicity of language and sentence structure.
The article describes a hugely complex network of technologies, and also touches on how public policy shapes their use, and yet I bet that as you're reading, you don't struggle at all with understanding what it's talking about.
The writer, Emily S. Rueb, uses short, straightforward sentences, paragraphs of only a sentence or two, utility words instead of flowery language -- and yet the writing doesn't seem at all unrefined. It just seems natural and to the point. That's a real service to the reader, and a real show of talent by the writer.
I guess, like the incredible infrastructure that goes into supplying power to NYC, you know it's working well when you hardly notice it.
- theoh 10y agoTo follow up to your last comment: as you may know, the idea of an infrastructure being invisible until it breaks down is one of the major themes in academic study of infrastructure. Gregory Bateson and Merleau-Ponty used the example of a blind person's cane as the paradigm of a tool that disappears to its user. Heidegger talked about similar notions of tools being present or absent from the point of view of perception. See p.208 of this book https://books.google.ie/books?id=U8IPBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA208&lpg=PA208&dq=%22invisible+in+use%22&source=bl&ots=FOB_JmM0iv&sig=lyzAbST4_NOIVAWHP214x4iPE7g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjLl7zj8IXSAhVLGsAKHYMsBWsQ6AEIKDAF#v=onepage&q=%22invisible%20in%20use%22&f=false https://books.google.ie/books?id=U8IPBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA208&lpg=P... Having said that (I'm not sure why I am saying it) a much more important aspect of infrastructure is the political one: does a given deployment of infrastructure reinforce existing unfair social advantages, or tend to equalize things? Fancy words like "apparatus" and "dispositif" can get you access to that discussion though I'm guessing it has a high ginger-factor for the HN audience.
- Tomte 10y agoFor more infrastructure of NYC: "The Works: Anatomy of a City" by Kate Ascher I was a bit disappointed that it is so focussed on NYC, but it is nevertgheless a fantastic book with lots and lots of illustrations. Also "Underground" by David Macauley.
- antisthenes 10y agoAs a non-native English speaker, I really appreciate this style of writing. I'm sure many people who are less proficient with academic English will do as well. Out of curiosity, I ran it through text complexity analysis and it came out at grade level 4.7, while a pseudo-randomly selected New Yorker article came in at 10.9
- jjguy 10y agoTo me, this principles of this style are best described in the Economist's Style Guide: http://www.economist.com/styleguide/introduction http://www.economist.com/styleguide/introduction "Clarity of writing usually follows clarity of thought. So think what you want to say, then say it as simply as possible." "Pomposity and long-windedness tend to obscure meaning, or reveal the lack of it: strip them away in favour of plain words." "Do your best to be lucid (“I see but one rule: to be clear”, Stendhal). Simple sentences help. Keep complicated constructions and gimmicks to a minimum" "Long paragraphs, like long sentences, can confuse the reader. “The paragraph”, according to Fowler, “is essentially a unit of thought, not of length; it must be homogeneous in subject matter and sequential in treatment.”" "Get: Get is an adaptable verb, but it has its limits. A man does not get sacked or promoted, he is sacked or promoted. Nor does a prize-winner get to shake hands with the president, or spend the money all at once; he gets the chance to, or is able to, or is allowed to.
- appleiigs 10y agoAll of these suggestions apply to coding too! I wish email writers would spend a bit more time on composition. I do realize code lives a lot longer than an email does, but if they put in just a fraction of the effort a programmer spends on structuring code, it would make email a lot better.
- jdiez17 10y agoI noticed this too. The combination of a minimalist layout, simple stylized graphics and clear writing made this article a joy to read.