4 ms·

If you start reading this, pause and think "is this my sort of thing"....I strongly encourage you to go back and keep reading. Wonderful article, but easy to j

by graeme 8y ago

If you start reading this, pause and think "is this my sort of thing"....I strongly encourage you to go back and keep reading. Wonderful article, but easy to jump by if you're in Hacker News skim mode like I was.

sureaboutthis 8y ago
Yeah, I was wondering what language it was written in cause I didn't understand the first third of it as English at all.
- yawn 8y ago
  I mean, it's pretty damn obvious it isn't written in French. I would hate to go through life missing out on so much forest because the trees look different from the ones I know. This is a fantastically written article full of wonderful storytelling that transports you into shoes few people get to wear.
  - bridanp 8y ago
    There's a wonderful book entitled Several Short Sentences About Writing from Verlyn Klinkenborg that I feel is important to everyone who enjoys reading and writing. It's about learning to free your mind when writing (don't try to stick to strict rules, find your own voice in writing). Reading that book also helped me learn how to clear my mind of bias when reading an essay such as this. And I did enjoy this. Not because I understood where he was from or where he's been. Just the opposite: I don't understand and cannot comprehend living his east St. Louis life, his NBA life, or his post-career depression. I enjoyed it because the style of writing fit the story being told.
    - yawn 8y ago
      It makes me wonder if folks who criticize this writing would also criticize something like Neuromancer, Huckleberry Finn, or A Clockwork Orange in the same way.
      - ellyagg 8y ago
        If you learned English outside the US and particularly as a second language, I could see this style being pretty strange and maybe hard to follow.
        leejo 8y ago
        Curious how people react to Trainspotting: http://wiztrit.com/excerpt/?e=14v http://wiztrit.com/excerpt/?e=14v
- dang 8y ago
  If you go back to trolling HN again we will ban you again. No more of this, please.
  - sureaboutthis 8y ago
    That's trolling?! I was only agreeing with @graeme so did you take care of his comment, too? I seriously question your opinion. And your opinion is that it is proper English when it is not!
    - tptacek 8y ago
      Previous (decent) thread on an excellent submission from Language Log: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12030097 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12030097. Also: check out Scottish Twitter sometime if you want some perspective on what English means in other contexts.
sophacles 8y ago
Thanks, I started reading, thought "Oh I'm not really a basketball person". Saw your comment and decided to give it another go, and I'm glad I did. For others wondering why - It's an insightful story about being in over your head and depression by a guy who played pro ball, rather than a story about pro ball.

by graeme 8y ago

sureaboutthis 8y ago

Yeah, I was wondering what language it was written in cause I didn't understand the first third of it as English at all.

yawn 8y ago
I mean, it's pretty damn obvious it isn't written in French. I would hate to go through life missing out on so much forest because the trees look different from the ones I know. This is a fantastically written article full of wonderful storytelling that transports you into shoes few people get to wear.
- bridanp 8y ago
  There's a wonderful book entitled Several Short Sentences About Writing from Verlyn Klinkenborg that I feel is important to everyone who enjoys reading and writing. It's about learning to free your mind when writing (don't try to stick to strict rules, find your own voice in writing). Reading that book also helped me learn how to clear my mind of bias when reading an essay such as this. And I did enjoy this. Not because I understood where he was from or where he's been. Just the opposite: I don't understand and cannot comprehend living his east St. Louis life, his NBA life, or his post-career depression. I enjoyed it because the style of writing fit the story being told.
  - yawn 8y ago
    It makes me wonder if folks who criticize this writing would also criticize something like Neuromancer, Huckleberry Finn, or A Clockwork Orange in the same way.
    - ellyagg 8y ago
      If you learned English outside the US and particularly as a second language, I could see this style being pretty strange and maybe hard to follow.
      - leejo 8y ago
        Curious how people react to Trainspotting: http://wiztrit.com/excerpt/?e=14v http://wiztrit.com/excerpt/?e=14v
dang 8y ago
If you go back to trolling HN again we will ban you again. No more of this, please.
- sureaboutthis 8y ago
  That's trolling?! I was only agreeing with @graeme so did you take care of his comment, too? I seriously question your opinion. And your opinion is that it is proper English when it is not!
  - tptacek 8y ago
    Previous (decent) thread on an excellent submission from Language Log: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12030097 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12030097. Also: check out Scottish Twitter sometime if you want some perspective on what English means in other contexts.

sophacles 8y ago

Thanks, I started reading, thought "Oh I'm not really a basketball person". Saw your comment and decided to give it another go, and I'm glad I did. For others wondering why - It's an insightful story about being in over your head and depression by a guy who played pro ball, rather than a story about pro ball.