5 ms·

For anyone else who was curious what the fix was, but not curious enough to read the whole long-form piece: > Shilling worked out the precise volume and pressu

by gundmc 5y ago

For anyone else who was curious what the fix was, but not curious enough to read the whole long-form piece: > Shilling worked out the precise volume and pressure of fuel being pumped into the chamber by the Merlin engine and designed a brass restrictor with a hole precisely the diameter needed to allow maximum flow of fuel, and therefore maximum power, without flooding the engine. Crucially, Shilling’s solution could be fitted without the removal of the carburettor, so the fix could be made in situ at operational airfields. Though it didn’t eliminate engine cut-outs altogether, it did minimize it to an acceptable degree.

jessriedel 5y ago
This consistently antagonistic relationship between writer and reader, where the former is stringing along the latter as much as possible, is such a weird aspect of this time period.
- tezzer 5y ago
  Harper's and the Atlantic have been doing long-form journalism since the 1850s. I think the form clashes with modern attention spans and ability to focus, but I still enjoy it. Since it persists, I don't think I'm alone. Recipe web sites, however... padding, padding and more. Though Dickens was paid by the word, too, and it shows.
  - spoonjim 5y ago
    This article is different from a great long Harper’s or Atlantic piece. I’m not good enough of a writer to know what needs to be fixed with this one but definitely something is “off” about its pacing.
  - brazzy 5y ago
    The problem is not long-form journalism. The problem is shitty long-form journalism that randomly jumps between the events actually being described and the biography of the people involved.
    - marvin 5y ago
      In that sense, this article was actually quite good.
    - hedberg10 5y ago
      Article about some new form of science widgetry: "It was a long cold night in November 2016, Tuesday, which was Taco day in the cafeteria. The suns ray appeared yellow, and trees were unable to photosynthesize ... " Last paragraph: "So X is now faster because of Y."
      - JohnWhigham 5y ago
        This is the natural consequence of every college prep high school teaching the dreaded 5 paragraph essay, and in turn students learning on how to load it with as much fluff as possible. Instead we should have focused on clear and concise writing. I didn't learn how to write properly until college. Quality over quantity.
  - pif 5y ago
    > modern attention spans and ability to focus It's not a problem with attention spam of focus ability: internet gave us a HUGE choice of information, and we literally like the time to enjoy it all. Thus prioritising is fundamental. Long read are perfectly fine and can be wonderful, provided I know fast enough whether it will be worth my time.
  - jessriedel 5y ago
    Academic articles have abstracts, and it's not because of lack of attention.
- anothernewdude 5y ago
  It's one of the reasons I'm just reading less and less.
- YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
  There are readers who like to read and there are readers who read primarily to get to the information that interests them. The former like long pieces because they give them the opportunity to do more of the thing theylike, reading. So if there is an antagonistic relation, it is between readers who like to read and readers who want to find the information quickly. However, I don't think there's such an antagonism. For every long, literary-style piece that conveys some kind of technical or historical etc information that may be interesting in the latter kind of reader, who just wants the facts, there are another 10 sources that give just the facts. For example, when it comes to Ms Shilling's Orifice, you can find the same information on wikipedia in much shorter form: Beatrice Shilling OBE PhD MSc CEng (8 March 1909 – 18 November 1990)[1] was a British aeronautical engineer and amateur racing driver. During the Second World War, she designed and developed "Miss Shilling's orifice" to restrict fuel flow to the carburettor of the Rolls-Royce Merlin engines in the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire fighters. Previously the pilots had experienced a loss of power or even complete engine cut-out during combat manoeuvres, posing a potentially lethal disadvantage in the Battle of Britain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Shilling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Shilling Note also that the damniniteresting.com piece is sub-titled with: Long-Form/Podcast: How a female engineer defied all norms to save England in the Second World War. Written by James Holloway • 09 October 2020 Long-form should give a hint about what is to come. I believe such descriptors in articles (which I've seen many times, as e.g. in The Guardian's "The Long Read" etc) are there exactly to match the right readers to the right pieces.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - jessriedel 5y ago
    This is not merely long, and it is not merely a narrative. It is teasing.
    - YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
      Well, I thought it went on a bit, but I didn't think it was teasing. It would have benefited from better editing, perhaps.
muzani 5y ago
Thank you. The clickbaity title was driving my BS instinct crazy, so I kept skimming it up and down to figure out if it would answer the question and then gave up when I couldn't find it where it would normally explain the term.

by gundmc 5y ago

jessriedel 5y ago

This consistently antagonistic relationship between writer and reader, where the former is stringing along the latter as much as possible, is such a weird aspect of this time period.

tezzer 5y ago
Harper's and the Atlantic have been doing long-form journalism since the 1850s. I think the form clashes with modern attention spans and ability to focus, but I still enjoy it. Since it persists, I don't think I'm alone. Recipe web sites, however... padding, padding and more. Though Dickens was paid by the word, too, and it shows.
- spoonjim 5y ago
  This article is different from a great long Harper’s or Atlantic piece. I’m not good enough of a writer to know what needs to be fixed with this one but definitely something is “off” about its pacing.
- brazzy 5y ago
  The problem is not long-form journalism. The problem is shitty long-form journalism that randomly jumps between the events actually being described and the biography of the people involved.
  - marvin 5y ago
    In that sense, this article was actually quite good.
  - hedberg10 5y ago
    Article about some new form of science widgetry: "It was a long cold night in November 2016, Tuesday, which was Taco day in the cafeteria. The suns ray appeared yellow, and trees were unable to photosynthesize ... " Last paragraph: "So X is now faster because of Y."
    - JohnWhigham 5y ago
      This is the natural consequence of every college prep high school teaching the dreaded 5 paragraph essay, and in turn students learning on how to load it with as much fluff as possible. Instead we should have focused on clear and concise writing. I didn't learn how to write properly until college. Quality over quantity.
- pif 5y ago
  > modern attention spans and ability to focus It's not a problem with attention spam of focus ability: internet gave us a HUGE choice of information, and we literally like the time to enjoy it all. Thus prioritising is fundamental. Long read are perfectly fine and can be wonderful, provided I know fast enough whether it will be worth my time.
- jessriedel 5y ago
  Academic articles have abstracts, and it's not because of lack of attention.
anothernewdude 5y ago
It's one of the reasons I'm just reading less and less.
YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
There are readers who like to read and there are readers who read primarily to get to the information that interests them. The former like long pieces because they give them the opportunity to do more of the thing theylike, reading. So if there is an antagonistic relation, it is between readers who like to read and readers who want to find the information quickly. However, I don't think there's such an antagonism. For every long, literary-style piece that conveys some kind of technical or historical etc information that may be interesting in the latter kind of reader, who just wants the facts, there are another 10 sources that give just the facts. For example, when it comes to Ms Shilling's Orifice, you can find the same information on wikipedia in much shorter form: Beatrice Shilling OBE PhD MSc CEng (8 March 1909 – 18 November 1990)[1] was a British aeronautical engineer and amateur racing driver. During the Second World War, she designed and developed "Miss Shilling's orifice" to restrict fuel flow to the carburettor of the Rolls-Royce Merlin engines in the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire fighters. Previously the pilots had experienced a loss of power or even complete engine cut-out during combat manoeuvres, posing a potentially lethal disadvantage in the Battle of Britain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Shilling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Shilling Note also that the damniniteresting.com piece is sub-titled with: Long-Form/Podcast: How a female engineer defied all norms to save England in the Second World War. Written by James Holloway • 09 October 2020 Long-form should give a hint about what is to come. I believe such descriptors in articles (which I've seen many times, as e.g. in The Guardian's "The Long Read" etc) are there exactly to match the right readers to the right pieces.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- jessriedel 5y ago
  This is not merely long, and it is not merely a narrative. It is teasing.
  - YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
    Well, I thought it went on a bit, but I didn't think it was teasing. It would have benefited from better editing, perhaps.

muzani 5y ago

Thank you. The clickbaity title was driving my BS instinct crazy, so I kept skimming it up and down to figure out if it would answer the question and then gave up when I couldn't find it where it would normally explain the term.