my week

[cahn]

I am starting to suspect I am actually pretty skilled in writing in a way that is -- um. Let's just say, a way by which I mean the application of technical jargon -- as well as language that could potentially be seen as obsfucating, primarily for the use of a substantial number of complex words in lieu of a lesser number of simplistic ones -- to the paradigm of writing in support of making the implicit (as well as explicit) argument that one possesses a fundamental understanding of various theoretical works which are written in a similar manner. This is for the reason that the audience for the writing in question wishes to access the methodologies of said works in situations in which the theories may or may not actually be relevant, if indeed (for in the absence of prescriptive sensibilities or quantitative studies in the works in question, it is not unambiguous) these methodologies at all add substantially to what we might think of as a simple human decision-making process. If you see what I mean.

On the other side... Rereading The Checklist Manifesto recently, I came across this quotation:

"Here are the details of one of the sharpest checklists I've seen, a checklist for engine failure during flight in a single-engine Cessna airplane... It is slimmed down to six key steps... But step one on the list is the most fascinating. It is simply: FLY THE AIRPLANE."

Comments

[ase]

The Checklist Manifesto is awesome. I wish its principles were more widely discussed and applied.

Not sure I understood the writing discussion... your writing assumes people understand the principles underlying the discussion, when those principles may be very peripheral to the hands-on application? It sounds like something's at cross-purposes in there.

[cahn]

It really is an amazing book, one of the very few nonfiction books that is on my EVERYONE MUST READ THIS list. I just got done writing a rather satisfying screed on how my company totally uses these principles for software development. (A result of convergent evolution.)

Well, the writing has to make the argument that I understand the principles. Whether the audience does is somewhat irrelevant? But yes, there's some tension there...

[sophia_gratia]

You are really skilled. That paragraph is a thing of (terrifying) beauty.

I think I'm going to make FLY THE AIRPLANE the motto of my dissertation. Thanks for that.

[cahn]

Heh. Is that a good thing?

Yeah, it's a good motto for life in general, I think. (Also, you really should read Code Name Verity. Though again, not if you're looking for a comfort read. :) )