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Many people feel compelled to write in this way. They think that if they don't make it personal, the reader will get bored. It has to include some story you cou
by hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago
Many people feel compelled to write in this way. They think that if they don't make it personal, the reader will get bored. It has to include some story you could relate to. A good example is Avi Loeb's Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth - for the first half of the book you can only wonder when the author stops talking about himself.
Sometimes, although rarely, this makes perfect sense, as in Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! - but in practice everybody thinks they're special.
- kleiba 5y agoSo, are you saying this is just a natural inclination in some authors? If so, it makes you wonder if most people actually _do_ want to see such a personal touch in what they read -- no matter what the topic is. Perhaps it's just me then who can't stand it, at least not when it's completely orthogonal to the topic at hand.
- hdjjhhvvhga 5y agoNo, I hate it too, it just reduces the signal-to-noise ratio. Sometimes a short story is perfectly fine in order to introduce a complex concept and then get to the point, that's all.
- mwigdahl 5y agoI often speculate that this is associated with the rise of video content. So much information on YouTube is encrusted with the personality and brand of the presenter that I wonder if this verbal, story-oriented mode of presentation hasn't spilled over and become the default for general text channels as well.