3 ms·
"Don’t tell the reader something is extremely complex; likewise don’t tell the reader something is simple. The reader will make up their own mind about a concep
by jszymborski 7y ago
"Don’t tell the reader something is extremely complex; likewise don’t tell the reader something is simple. The reader will make up their own mind about a concept being easy or hard."
I think this is great advice, and applied to teaching. I can't tell you the number of times a professor has said "and then obviously it follows that" or "it's easy to see that". Nearly every time that was uttered in a lecture I wanted to hurl my textbook at the board.
Looking for alternatives? "Is it easy?" or "It might be obvious" work fine. Maybe use those moments as opportunities to check in with your audience. In the written context, maybe offer end/footnotes explaining why it might be obvious/easy.
- abathur 7y agoWhenever I see this advice, or similar, I'm reminded of one of the "rules" I encountered in the style guide for an old MUD. Roughly: Don't write item/place/npc descriptions that tell the player ("you") anything they should think or feel. Easier said than done, though.
- combatentropy 7y agoRelated: don't say someting is interesting. For example, "It's interesting that . . . " I see this preface more often than "simple" or "complex." Also there is a type of person for whom your introduction will come across as a dare to find it uninteresting.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]