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Doctorow histrionically copying the entire Gibson quote is a perfect example of why he is a poor writer. He has no sense of balance.
by jdkee 7y ago
Doctorow histrionically copying the entire Gibson quote is a perfect example of why he is a poor writer. He has no sense of balance.
- cosmiccatnap 7y agoInteresting how an attack of his writing style invalidates his criticisms...
- filoleg 7y agoThe parent comment isn't saying "his writing style is bad, and that makes his points bad." It is saying "His points are bad, and the issues with his poor writing style seem to mirror the issues with the points he makes". You can say that the parent comment doesn't explain why his points are bad, but that has been already discussed to death elsewhere in the thread. So it doesn't seem necessary to copypaste all of that in here, just to make a point about his writing style issues alone.
- kome 7y agook.
- dkarl 7y agoNot only that, the Gibson quote has not aged well. Consumers are not gripping a remote control in voiceless isolated rage; they now hold globally connected handheld computers that provide access to a dizzying choice of ways to interact with others. If there's something essential in this unattractive picture that hasn't changed, this choice of quote doesn't give me confidence that either Gibson or Doctorow understands it.
- jdkee 7y agoI think the quote was appropriate at the time, see parallel ideas espoused by Stephenson in Interface (1994). It predates the smartphone/social media era.