> "Useful writing tells people something true and important that they didn't already know, and tells them as unequivocally as possible." The fallacy here is th

> "Useful writing tells people something true and important that they didn't already know, and tells them as unequivocally as possible." The fallacy here is that statement assumes that what you're saying is a priori true and important, regardless of what the reader might think. As if that thought already existed out there, being true and important in its own right and you were the first to merely stumble across it. "Useful writing" presumes that the reader will agree with the usefulness of your writing and accept whatever you've written at face value. Whereas the entire point of publishing an essay is to push your thoughts out into the world, out of your control, where others might de-construct and criticize what you're bringing to their doorstep. Useful writing is basically a take on Positivism. And while that works in certain areas of scientific endeavor, there's a long philosophical tradition that argues against taking this too far. Especially in social and sociological sciences. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positivism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positivism