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Well there are two forms of writing, each serving a different purpose. (1) writing to communicate ideas, in which case simpler is almost always better. There's
by wcfrobert 10mo ago
Well there are two forms of writing, each serving a different purpose.
(1) writing to communicate ideas, in which case simpler is almost always better. There's something hypnotic about simple writing (e.g. Paul Graham's essays) where information just flows frictionlessly into your head.
(2) writing as a form of self-expression, in which case flowery and artistic prose is preferred.
Here's a good David Foster Wallace quote in his interview with Bryan Garner:
> "there’s a real difference between writing where you’re communicating to somebody, the same way I’m trying to communicate with you, versus writing that’s almost a well-structured diary entry where the point is [singing] “This is me, this is me!” and it’s going out into the world.
- HPsquared 10mo agoRich vocabulary allows a lot of meaning to be packed into short, simple structures. The words themselves carry the subtleties. It might take three or four simple words to convey the meaning of one uncommon word.
- mmooss 10mo ago> It might take three or four simple words to convey the meaning of one uncommon word. Or just find the appropriate 'simple' word, which is very often available.
- michaelt 10mo agoEven when communicating ideas, there's a simplicity/nuance trade-off to be made. I could say "Trump's unpredictable, seemingly irrational policy choices have alienated our allies, undermined trust in public institutions, and harmed the US economy" Or I could "The economy sucks and it's Trump's fault because he's dumb and an asshole" They both communicate the same broad idea - but which communicates it better? It depends on the audience.
- mmooss 10mo ago> They both communicate the same broad idea - but which communicates it better? It depends on the audience. Ugh. They say different things. The first describes the policy mechanisms and impacts. The second says nothing about those things; it describes your emotions. The biggest communication problem I see now is people, especially on the Internet, including on HN, use the latter for the former purpose and say nothing.
- Guestmodinfo 10mo agoI will choose the second one because it packs more wrongs that he has done which are not addressed by the first choice of words :)
- RossBencina 10mo agoI don't think they communicate the same broad idea at all. Making "unpredictable, seemingly irrational" choices is far from equivalent to being a dumb asshole. Your second version assumes the equivalence, which, hypothetically speaking, could provide a nice cover for purposeful malfeasance, could it not?
- dwd 10mo agoEric Weinstein made a good point about Trump and his use of language: Trump was much closer to saying “The immigrants are taking your jobs.” Well, to a labor market analyst, that’s not remotely the same thing at all as saying “US employers and political donors are colluding to confiscate your most valuable rights without market-based compensation, while denigrating you as lazy and stupid, and hiding behind a veneer of excellence and xenophilia as they economically undermine your families.” But it’s much easier, isn’t it?
- mmooss 10mo ago> writing as a form of self-expression, in which case flowery and artistic prose is preferred. Many all-time great writers, Hemingway being the leading exemplar, completely disagree.
- eszed 10mo agoYah. The first clause is still true, though. (Signed, Hemingway fanboy.)
- lesostep 10mo agoI have been reading "Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software" by Charles Petzold recently. Purely for fun. And I have to say, without the prose and lyrics it would be a read so dry, it'd rival silica gel beads. It feels to me like in between communication and self-expression there lies a secret third thing. Not only sharing knowledge, but sharing it with joy.
- eszed 10mo ago> simpler is almost always better Yeah, a lot's hiding in the "almost", there. I've said this on this board before, but I have to write a lot of documentation for non-technical users, and the maximally-straightforward stuff doesn't get read, far less remembered. When I mix in some personalization, and a bit of imagination, it gets much better results. The example that most easily springs to mind was something like "if you don't regularly use this system, you can skip the next bit and come back to it when you have to; if you do, then imagine you're a squirrel", and then I named all the variables after nuts, and analogized choices between burying data underground versus storing in a tree. I know typical HN engineers would hate that sort of thing, but you have to know your audience before you can decide what works best.