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Academic writing uses abstracts, and it is not because they are so accustomed to instant gratification. It is because it makes for clearer reading and a more ef
by jessriedel 6y ago
Academic writing uses abstracts, and it is not because they are so accustomed to instant gratification. It is because it makes for clearer reading and a more efficient allocation of effort.
- squaresmile 6y agoThis is not academic writing though. This is an interesting story posted on somebody's blog. If I tell my friends a cool story, I would need to walk them through the story and drop the punch line/conclusion at the end. I also enjoy it very much when somebody tell me a story that way. Not everything, even technical teardown, needs more efficient allocation of effort. Interestingly, this is the second time I see this kind of comment recently and turns out it's from the same person. Maybe I'm on HN too much.
- jessriedel 6y agoI brought up the academic example specifically to rebut DWakefield's argument that the main reason the reader would want abstracts/summaries is because they cannot delay gratification; I wasn't arguing that blogs should have it because academics use it. Clearly, this is my axe to grind