Benjamin Franklin said, "Fart proudly," and I know this is true because Carl Japiske wrote a book entitled Fart Proudly: Writings of Benjamin Franklin You Never Read in School, which you can buy at Amazon.com (which is a corporate giant that would never lie about these things).
It actually has nothing to do with this post, except that it made for a catchy title (and possibly prepares you for the poor writing to follow).
I pick this up from Environmental Economics--How to Write a Research Paper--wherein the author explains the text of his department's guide to writing in ... shall we say, more pragmatic terms.
My favorite example:
I think I've got it. Instead of saying, "When statists talk, freedom disappears," I should say, "When advocates of involuntary communitarian philosophies bloviate, the ability to exercise unfettered choice in a free market exhibits a downward spiral."
Wow, I could have been an economist.
It actually has nothing to do with this post, except that it made for a catchy title (and possibly prepares you for the poor writing to follow).
I pick this up from Environmental Economics--How to Write a Research Paper--wherein the author explains the text of his department's guide to writing in ... shall we say, more pragmatic terms.
My favorite example:
3) What do you mean by 'high standards of scholarship and exposition'?
Handbook: The manuscript must be free of glaring technical and expository mistakes.
Me: Write poorly. OK, not poorly, but like other economists. Read a bunch of journal articles and follow their style. Most economists have no formal training in writing and it shows--but at least it's consistent. So instead of trying to revolutionize the way economists write, follow the leaders--take easy concepts and make them sound complicated. Instead of writing "when prices go up, people buy less," write "Price and quantity demanded are inversely related." Instead of writing "The next dollar is worth less than the last one," write, "Consumer preferences exhibit diminishing marginal utility of income" or "The indirect utility function is assumed to be quasi-concave in income." Trust me, it's always better to sound smart than to write clearly.
I think I've got it. Instead of saying, "When statists talk, freedom disappears," I should say, "When advocates of involuntary communitarian philosophies bloviate, the ability to exercise unfettered choice in a free market exhibits a downward spiral."
Wow, I could have been an economist.
Comments
Or more obtusely, "when Bill O'Riely bloviates, he also indoctrinates. When he goes outside of the studio pushes Barack Obama staffers and insults Ron Paul supports because he works for a meglomaniac and has become one himself thus limiting all of our ability to make intelligent choices as he laps his corporate satan's nutsack." Is that clear writing?
How about: "When O'Rielly exchanges mouthing off incoherently for pushing people he disagrees with, he proves himself to be the nutcase we all thought he was."