The Writling Blog
Dishonest truths
This is true: When I was in my early 30s, I regularly texted pictures of poop to a woman I know. It’s also dishonest. Since my last post here four years ago, I’ve had a lot of incentive to think about truth and honesty. The political events of the last 4 years have...
One hazard of political writing (with example!)
Political writing is a huge topic, of course, but I want to focus on one particular hazard that hopefully won't come across as a purely partisan opinion. It has to do with slogans. Noun verb ambiguity--the so-called "ambicategoricality problem"--is quite common in...
A mathematical expression
This blog won't often feature math, but in this case I think it's for a good cause. It's hard to quantify levels of understanding between people--you end up with squishy language like "a lot" or "pretty well". But I'm interested in how people understand each other in...
4 rules of clarity.
"Do not write so that you can be understood, write so that you cannot be misunderstood." If you look around online, you'll find some version of this quote attributed to Robert Lewis Stevenson, William Howard Taft, Epictetus, and probably others. A scholar I trust...
The case for (some) language snobbery
I'd like to take a position that runs counter to my own professional interests (and, honestly, the urgings of my soul). We shouldn't focus too much on "errors" in English. I, of all people, understand the temptation to point them out. But it's not helpful. It creates...
Cold fusion: Or “Why language is important in business”
As of this writing (May 2016), an Italian guy is making news for having allegedly figured out cold fusion. If so, it’s the most important invention since fire. But it may be a giant hoax. Or…something else. Unfortunately it’s not clear right now. The man himself has...