Indeed love of language, advanced linguistic facility, complex and variable semiotics, scope and precision in command of English, ever remains crucially important to robust communication in the wordy, nerdy and heady process of all creativity and discovery. Indeed by very nature, creativity by far exceeds any merely solitary individual trait or characteristic. First of all, there is no investigation so concrete as to become penetrable without abstraction and creativity. All science begins with hypothesis, sheer conjecture, only then subject to critical preference, even before Empirical reality testing. But more to the point, creativity, playful, pleasurably engaged and meaningful creativity, involved Eudemonia epitomized in collaborative brainstorming and solution finding, ever persists as uniquely gregarious and intelligent human motivating social and intellectual stimulus struggle as consistent with the grand afterthought of Cultural Anthropology. Indeed, all product of evolutionary neurology and hideous inbred mutation of engorged human cerebrality under 'The Survival of the Sickest.' And it's complicated: Language remains an active memplex expressing itself through a suitable living host: Indeed as Heidegger contends, people speaking or writing from the memory of language forever echoing in our minds. Active Reading and Listening frequently and subversively exceeds ever popular but somewhat misguidedly halfhearted cretin philistine maxims and expectations of simple writing style. Of course the most obvious danger remains that of oversimplification. And oversimplification is such that merely for simplicity's sake then results in distortion. But even so said, in and of itself, indeed treads perilously close to oversimplification. Because, as it turns out, even oversimplification can become such a complicated matter. Indeed, true elegance and simplicity must be earned via rounds of subtractive and an ever more tightly integrative process of editing. Because, much like photography, easy to do but difficult to do well, writing is rewriting, and never a waste of time. Indeed, reading comprehension replete with diligent miscommunication competent conversational adequacy in ongoing collaborative miscommunication repair, ever turns upon active cognition and comprehension, actually reading with purpose: Conscious effort to hear, observe or read, then analyze, assign meaning to and react, even just individually and subjectively, to content of communication. For just as the mind functions as more than merely a passive receptacle of knowledge, likewise there is more to be gotten out of reading than most simply rendition of whatever text. Indeed, Effective Active Reading and Listening strategy, or in a single word: literacy, particularly of Literature as distinguished, narrowly defined and signified by the much vaunted capital 'L', frequently demands that much more than simply decoding of the very words and then parsing of whatever phraseology and even composition, page by page, line by line, word by word. But to always get it right the first time, say very little, and never anything new.Indeed, motivation whatsoever, the passion persuasive at all of taking a focused interest, remains indispensable. Because, much like photography, easy to do but difficult to do well, writing is rewriting, and never a waste of time. And while, of course, difficulty does not automatically confer greatness, nevertheless often worthwhile content and fuller experience thereof, may indeed entail any greater effort and focus also on the part of the reader, and not only from authors ever striving to find, involve and engage their audiences rhetorically and dramatically. Effective Active Reading and Listening may even be thought of as most richly engaged and creative partnership on the part of message recipient, with message sender. interpretation in reading or listening at a higher level, the happier and more capable for it. There can be nothing halfhearted or inattentive in exalted and all consuming Eudemonia, so fully engaged. Indeed reciprocally, beyond merely any one way communication, Eudemonia turns first of all, and indispensably, upon Socratic Dialectic, the practice of controversy being the welcome and invited exchange of criticism, thereby ongoing error detection and course correction, and in deliberation analytic yet strategic, creativity bridging abstract principle (generally why) and concrete application (specifically how). Indeed, no one even much bothers to ask how or even what, until first understanding, even philosophically, to ponder precisely why. Indeed of course the only true and best reason why, gentle reader, all that matters most in the human condition, remains not only in psychology, but Axiology: real life drama, exploration of whatever individual driving motives entirely of one's own uniquely. Indeed, personal interests and priorities interactively to navigate personal path through the present copiously dense hypertext, nonlinear thought given sprawling form. And thence into deep discussion. And perhaps at long last, even as often frustrating, proverbially like unto herding cats(!) to any meeting of minds on common ground in common cause of true unmet friends. Gentle reader, is FoolQuest.com right for you?
Nevertheless and notwithstanding, does anyone at all, and short attention be dammed, actually never read any complicated material whatsoever, even no matter howsoever entirely warranted? And never attempt anything difficult or convoluted? No, not at all. For oh yes, all too often, they do precisely so. And even swear by it. Indeed, just the opposite of swearing off complexity and convolution, the most depraved complexity junkies online, become absorbed and devote themselves in the most esoteric and obscure deep dives and puzzles of every imaginable type or kind, just for the challenge, even with so very little at stake. At least those pleasurably entertained, hence paradoxically more serious yet taking themselves less seriously, may therefore find whatever topics more engaging here on FoolQuest.com And there will be no information overload, for those who devour content and knowledge resource because they find themselves intensely interested, motivated and engrossed in whatever they perceive as being most meaningful to urgent personal concern and crisis with which we all perpetually find ourselves so ceaselessly embroiled, and grapple ever tenaciously every day. Nor will information overload overcome those who can swim the cyber sea without worrying about dinking every drop, indeed those who can decide, pick and chose, whatever content or information that they seek, howsoever or not any of that may coincide with authorial intent and purpose in any meeting of minds actually towards sought for collaboration.
Good students are enthusiastic. They join together into study groups on their own time. They are brownnosing eager goody two-shoes approval seekers, chomping at the bit to perform every dullardly fools errand put before them, hence often slyly despised by the other students, anything but enthusiastic, indeed, actually self-loathing and bitter in our oppression. But search the web, and alas, study groups are not found in any other context but schooling, formal education, what passes for education, in ever much the same heteronymous preparation for drone like travail, eager and grumbling alike, marked all for our stations in life. Have they then forever destroyed our capacity for initiative and collaboration? Do not the oppressed fathom that we are at war with our condition of oppression, in whatever guise that oppression assumes, and whatever form that struggle for real freedom, autonomy supported by capability, may take? Prisoners of war, naturally skeptical towards the authority of their captivity, defy slave mentality and form escape comities, ever planning, preparing and finally taking serious action. So where then are the study groups and research think tanks of the rebellion, the escape committees from the rat-race? That is who I write this website for, if they will have me. So if you must whine, then at least whine honestly! Stymied and intimidated by big words? Really? Bah, humbug! Stand up! Get serious! In our arsenal we shall maintain the two taboo values of intellectual autonomy, that cannot be taken until they are willfully surrendered: Open ended and free ranging conjecture, speculation only afterward subject to critical preference via controversy which is the free exchange of criticism. But such is abstraction. And therefore serious planning demands the violation of yet a third taboo actually against bridging the distant and abstract with the proximate and practical. Yes, the actual taboo upon strategic planning: And what can ever become more toxic than the great divide, sheer failure of imagination, between passive lofty philosophical inquiry, inert and never building strategy much less taking action, and practical discussion willfully and woefully uniformed by abstract reasoning or background research, and therefore unteachably condemned only to the most rash, simplistic and misguided action? Riddle me this: When is the concrete abstract? Answer: Whenever reasoning is argued. All sound practical consideration resorts to abstract principle, just as all sound abstract reasoning must be informed by Empirical practicality. Otherwise, positions become arbitrary. And it happens all the time! A begged question ever obtaining as to the requisite level of communication to all of lofty ambition as herein. Not to digress, however. In the words of George Orwell: “The main motive for 'nonattachment' is a desire to escape from the pain of living, and above all from love, which, sexual or non-sexual is hard work.” Indeed, even by the present juxtaposition thereby recontextualizing the words of Sophocles: “Without labor nothing prospers.” As misattributed to Thomas Alva Edison: “Recognizing opportunity is so difficult for most people because it goes around disguised in overalls, looking like hard work!” In the words of Theodore Roosevelt: “I don't pity any man who does hard work worth doing. I admire him.” And in the words of Henry Ford: “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it.” Although, to quote Elon Musk: “No matter how hard you work, someone else is working harder.” Or just perhaps thinking and even loving that much harder! Is then even reading this webpage and responding actually so terribly difficult thinking? And in comparison to what available alternatives and to what end? What experience or result? As the Yiddish saying goes: “If hard work was so wonderful, the rich would keep it all for themselves.” And indeed, when it is, they do! And pay and/or charge a pretty penny for the privilege. Not just lifestyle entrepreneurship, meaning greater fulfillment and job satisfaction, coming in trade off at sacrifice of even quantifiable maximum profitability, but instead of merely going on vacation, actually paying a fee for the pleasurable transient experience of ones own dream job! Indeed, to quote Anthony Marra: “Work isn’t meaningful just because you spend your life doing it.” After all, in the words of J.M. Barrie: “Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.” Or to quote: Maxim Gorky: “When work is pleasure, life is joy! When work is a duty, life is slavery.” And that may certainly apply no less to any natural preference towards thinking about anything else less dystressing. And so, is the infliction of whatever such supposed reading and thinking difficulty at hand upon the reader, simply well avoidable by the author? Is it all my fault? Or might it be the agenda at hand, in and of itself, life itself being at all so difficult? Or is the agenda at hand so boring? Therefore, can we please just get serious: What else should be of so much greater concern, why and how so? All manner of demands and conditions are placed upon the individual in life, especially as pertaining to specific endeavors, often needlessly and unreasonably or even quite detrimentally. But there are also conditions that are reasonably imposed only by circumstances and of actual necessity. It all comes down to that responsible question of what will actually be required in order to achieve whatever ends. And as the saying goes: "No question is too stupid to be asked and no answer is too wise to be given." Conversation ought not be impoverished by restriction to the clear and familiar. The question is of the author's responsibility to their readers. -Of the clarity of the text, the effort on the part of the author beforehand to spare the readers any repetition of needless and wasteful aggravation ever after. I am not an obscurantist! But over simplification is distortion, not clarification. Fortunately, I am a living author on the Web. I am free to continually revise from substantive criticism. I am never bound to abandon my prose as finished and deathless, as were the printed authors of olden days and pre-electronic darkness! And what a blessing: The communication and construction of new ideas is ever a struggle, reciprocally. Therefore failure of comprehension should not be a conversation killer, but indeed the most meaningful conversation starter, often surprising, sometimes frightening. To that noble end, it is always possible to offer, at the very least, copy editing remarks for clarification of any ambiguity in syntax and composition, and beyond such, analysis of concepts as may ever seem howsoever muddled or vague. Even disapproval begs question all the more so of why! The reciprocal engagement in criticism that makes for controversy, is the very opposite of both the maliciously empty hostility of flaming and of the irresponsible denial so characteristic of vague hand waving and pipedreaning. Critical thinking tools of Dialectic include:
|
Incomprehension is a beginning, not an impasse. Often, whatever remaining howsoever unclear is discussed, precisely because of remaining howsoever unclear. Gentle reader, do you embrace Socratic Wisdom? Can you remain comfortable with the unknown, penetrate the unknown, and then clearly explain to others? There can be no short and simplistic solutions to complex, important and interesting problems. Otherwise, wouldn't the ideas have already reached fruition? And such is the human condition. The work then, remains cut out for those of us abiding in frustration and discontent with our lives. Is analytical and strategic discourse informing subversive struggle for change, then truly so unthinkable for serious people?
- With most profuse and contrite apologies,
- and no grounds for all consuming and entirely undue mistrust,
- in case of any whatever difficulties in reading and understanding text,
- navigating hypertext, or in order to advise or critique prose and composition
- in order so very kindly to provide actually relevantly helpful and usable feedback interaction...
yet in actuality, subversively undaunted in barely scratching the surface. Is that so terrible for serious people? For as the saying goes: No question is too stupid to ask, and no answer too wise to be given. And it is better to express needs than to spout rules. Rules are not reasons. Rules are all made up, needs are innate. And whereas even the most actually important rules are frequently broken, by contrast human needs can break you, when remaining unaddressed. Therefore we each retain every right and bear full responsibility to express individual needs to the best of ones own understanding, And yet bizarre Moralism so piously extols and extracts the chastisement of desire, even the desire for communication and the need for fully engaged writing critique instead of broadest stock advice that we've all heard so many times before, to wit: Cavalier simple minded exhortations to simple writing. Alas that all such self-righteous distance is making us all miserable.
- Communication on any level remains continual struggle: And anyone who tells us otherwise only glorifies superficiality and short attention span. But gentle reader, if you can't take anything seriously, then why should I? Alas how many cling to all manner of expectations not only as to writing style and content, but in any range of context, as to procedure and how things must be done. However, all too frequently, and with longstanding and considered good reason. expertise often embraces expectations quite different from those of ubiquitous ideology of unaware incompetence. Given the trend of contempt for expertise and science, competence itself even becomes actually contrarian: defined as opposition or rejection of popular opinion, Although the whys and wherefores may come as no secret and little surprise to anyone who actually cares to pay attention. And yes, additionally, there is anything actually at all more controversial within any field of endeavor. To be explicit, find herein bold overture, one way or the other, of perhaps even purposefully doing things at all differently. Blithe correction will then seem frustratingly blockheaded, entirely missing the point.
To quote Sholem Asch: “Writing comes more easily if you have something to say.” And yet, though so easy to do, so difficult to do well, writing is rewriting, hard work and never a waste of time. And if only simple writing style is to be permitted, then we'd have to burn half the classics in all of their richness, substance and depth. Indeed the effort at rewriting and not just disposable stream of consciousness then forever set in stone, is but one of those routine and sensible expectation from serious writing, no secret to anyone paying attention, and nothing radical. Alas however, how people can be so weird and cagy. I am not an obscurantist! So goes the proverb: “The devil is in the details.” Rest assured that if I already knew and understood whatever specific ambiguities or communications errors remain, I would already have revised accordingly. People of good faith, tend to project onto others. And so do people of bad faith. It is dangerous to expect others to be just the same as oneself. Nevertheless: Gentle reader, take a chance on me: Can you take my good will on good faith? Gentle reader, will you give this a chance? Believe me that if I already knew, I would already have made whatever needed revisions. The point herein to drive home, remains that in order to help another rewrite more clearly, first penetration of authorial intent remains key. There is no helping another to communicate more clearly, until first together gleaning authorial intent, whatever the author struggles to express, even in a short sample text. Such is fully engaged and involved collaboration in ongoing Dialectical miscommunication repair. Only then can specific and cogent rewrites be suggested. And that goes to the very soul of cogent critique. There are no short cuts of offhanded disapproval. Can't read this? Alas that for the most part with rare exceptions, the bulk of any scarce discussion regarding FoolQuest.com invariably only revolves upon one burning complaint: That of the alleged impenetrability of the prose and composition here on FoolQuest.com. After all, Netizens are just lazy, so we have all been so confidently assured. They clueless somnambulists must then be catered to and placated at all times, lest they rouse to disapproval and spike the all holy algorithm. And therefore there can be nothing at all challenging or substantive. In actuality however, prevailing and pandemic short attention undermining public literacy and cognition, is clearly an expectation so assiduously cultivated in an unending and wearisome deluge of trivializing clickbait media distraction and glorified dilettantery. It's so convenient! Bah, humbug! As the saying goes, no question is too foolish to ask, and no answer too wise to be given. Therefore question freely in case of incomprehension. There is no shame in it. Can we be serious? In truth, Active Reading and due diligence, the wherewithal to digest, filter and ponder for oneself on the fly, anything more substantive, indeed even a densely informative and involved website the likes of FoolQuest.com, must surely remain the very least of requisite fully engaged research capability and enthusiasm in deliberation together towards any true and heady collaboration among equals, the prime objective of FoolQuest.com, the ever subversive website of substantive communication towards purposeful interaction and innovation rather than ubiquitous and interminably banal small talk.
To fathom authorial intent, leave us face it: FoolQuest.com is no casual read for short attention. And yet, the casual reader need not vex. As per the notorious multiple p's: Properly Purposeful Pre-Planning and Prior Preparation Prevents Preemptive Production of Painfully Piss Poor Performance. What scoundrels then, what knaves and fools, dare tell us all that everything must be either completely easy or else impossible and taboo? Only the oppressor discourages the masses from thinking too deeply or hoping for too much. Beware cocksurety and deluded wishful thinking on the one hand, and dire defeatism on the other! Alas, all too often then, the less one knows, the more confident, the more that one so erroneously believes that indeed one knows. For such is the monumental naivety and hubris of unaware incompetence. Instead, let us then each embrace Socratic Wisdom, by gauging and owning for oneself, the true scope of ones own ignorance and how little one actually knows. And remember that the practice of controversy, the very soul of free expression, rationality and shit from Shinola, being the free, invited and appreciated exchange of criticism, keeping us honest, remains inherently friendly, a most sincere expression of abiding respect. And therefore short attention, conformity and anti-intellectual consensus of uncritical common expectations all be damned!
Again, Active Reading strategy may constitute the very least of due considerations and diligence. Because, for any earnest ambition or aspiration, for any desired outcome or experience less ordinary, the alas so frequently ignored objectively real practical question obtains, as to what shall actually be required, realistically, of us each. And the least of what we must each and all need decide responsibly for oneself autonomously, remains: What shall be deemed important enough for whatever degree of focused effort elicited or entailed, and what will be at stake, personally? For such is criteria of self selection and arête. And thank you, gentle reader. Because in the immortal words of Simone Weil: “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity."
- To Hell with "correct" simple writing and the homogenizing and style destroying Artificial Stupidity of Grammarly!
- Writing is rewriting, hard work and never a waste of time! And authorial intent remains the worthy focus and objective together of actual critique.
- Even sheer incomprehension is a beginning and no dire impasse. Critique is a dialogue. And a writer is no writer, who will never engage in critique.
- Please believe me: If I already understood precisely whatever might remain unclear, how so and why, I would already have revised accordingly. Hence my exasperation.
- Please CLICK HERE for full exposition ever as needed, regarding the proffer of cogent critique and editing remarks. Thank you.
If anything is not clear, won't anyone please just go over the text with me, even just a paragraph or two, simply to locate, Identify and help me edit anything howsoever unclear? Honestly, please believe me, if I already knew specifically whatever was unclear how so and why, I would have already made the needed revisions. But I don't like guessing games. I tend to guess incorrectly and waste everybody's time. Alas that complaint of incomprehension is simply not the same thing as request for clarification. Alas that people often only remember whatever their own feelings, and worse, some tend to act out and bully by flaming.
Subjective sensations of confusion often discourages engagement in further communication. Simply giving up that way, and just dummying up, is regrettable. Because in the alternative, another better possible response might be to further ponder and investigate. Or better still, there may be opportunity to question. As the saying goes, no question is too stupid to ask, and no answer too wise to be given. As everybody knows, we only learn from our mistakes. And this includes confusion and incomprehension. Since time immemorial, controversy persists upon such fundamental questions as: What to do about ignorance, simply not knowing? Some even find the courage to speculate. And what to do about error, about making mistakes? Some courageous souls learn from mistakes, and endure committed to ongoing error detection and course correction. What to do in the event of disagreement? Some engage in the art of controversy, which is the open, welcome and appreciated exchange of criticism. Because criticism is inherently friendly. Alas however, too many take umbrage and act out. Some will never admit mistakes, and strive to avoid them like the very plague, Many therefore, in contending with thin-skinned Anti-Critical Bias, come to equate disagreement with strife, and therefore deplore all expression of disagreement. Alas, in the famous adage of Sigmund Freud: "That which is not expressed, is acted
out." Indeed, even most dishonestly, controlling and manipulatively. And all in such such harmful desperation for superficial harmony.
Moreover, to make matters even worse, somehow, too few seem to find the wit also to pose the very question: What to do in case of flat out incomprehension? What if we fail to communicate and do not yet understand one another? Frustratingly, all too many simply yet fall silent and dummy up in resentment or embarrassment, or even pretend to understand when actuality they do not. But there is better alternative, first in openly declaring incomprehension, and then meticulous process whereby to discover and identify specifics of incomprehension, then to bring about lucid reciprocal comprehension called: intersubjectivity, bringing about correspondence between message as in the mind of the recipient, and the message as intended by the sender. The effort can be so frustrating, seeking to engage with others who just won't play ball. Yet perhaps the expectation remains too great. To begin with, complaint of incomprehension is simply not the same thing as actually requesting clarification, much less, as per Simone Weil, the rarest and purest generosity in helpfully paying attention, the level of feedback and critique that writers may actually deem beneficial. Indeed, nor does even the most strident demand for writing to be more clear, imply good will and cooperation to help, facilitate or to explain whatever the problem or ambiguity needing correction might be. Because that may entail Active Reading and Listening strategies, whereas short attention span, only skimming the simple and familiar, may promote assumptions that writing is similarly easy, with the expectations of the stream of consciousness to run sparkling clear, direct and shallow in all things and for all people. But even in honest, trustworthy and respectful good faith, in real life no less than fiction, there may remain challenging dramatic obstacles of miscommunication, misunderstanding, and incomprehension outright. And this is no anomaly, but merely fallibility in the human condition. What then must be done in case of incomprehension of any message whereof one desires to know the substance? After all, we only learn from openly detecting and correcting our mistakes, much as from rough draft to polished prose. In the words of Neil Gaiman “The process of doing your second draft is the process of making it look like you knew what you were doing all along.” And fault finding to correct may often require then assistance of a willing reader to help pick the prose apart without neurotic sulking and complaint. Gentle reader, is there anything in the present text that you do not yet understand, that so far remains unclear to you? Frankly, are you even interested? And is there anything you struggle to work out and express in response? Alas, anxiety and even sheer Anti-Socratic ideological hostility often manifests as derisive incomprehension. Otherwise disagreement and even disapproval may be expressed in candor and lucidity. Gentle reader, whatever your incomprehension may be your greatest gift to me, if only you will share! Alas, nothing so helpful ensues from paralytic anxiety or simmering hostility as all too often engenders merely 'Dismissive Incomprehension, a derisive protest of purported incomprehension in order to dismiss, demean, denigrate and undermine another's position. Instead, the discovery of ignorance should confer every precious blessing of Socratic Wisdom. Indeed, a feature of such anti-intellectual denial, that inculcated defense mechanism that Orwell named: crimestop, the deeply conditioned reflex of curtailing thoughtcrime, is that important questions are taboo and even actually regarded as boring by the fanatical hosts of the aforesaid crimestop memplex, so shockingly bereft of all painstaking linguistic metacognition and unflagging philosophical habits of clear thinking. f anything is not clear, won't anyone please just go over the text with me, even just a paragraph or two, simply to locate, Identify and help me edit anything howsoever unclear? Honestly, if I already knew specifically whatever was unclear how so and why, I would have already made the needed revisions. But I don't like guessing games. I tend to guess incorrectly and waste everybody's time. Alas that complaint of incomprehension is simply not the same thing as request for clarification. Alas that people often only remember whatever their own feelings, and worse, some tend to act out and bully by flaming.
Many passing by in silence, choose not to engage. But there are also various evasive and ambivalent conceits of limited or pseudoengagement, for whatever reason declining to engage but without simply coming out and saying so. Although "soft-flame" remains the worst, there are many styles of pseudoengagement. For example, variations upon the same advice towards simple writing style, are all too often so cavalier and blithely proffered. And this can be frustrating, because such generality falls short of engagement with whatever work at hand and the content thereof, let alone seeking at all to fathom authorial intent. And engagement with authorial intent is where the most valuable writing help and advice actually begins, even for the sake of better clarity and simplification without oversimplification, let alone actually further exploration upon whatever topic and enrichment of text. The advice that any text requires stylistic simplification, may often conceal a complaint of incomprehension eliciting such needless discomfort and anxiety. Because incomprehension, no more than disagreement, is no barrier, only a Dialectical beginning from Socratic Wisdom. Moreover, while there are many ever popular and even fine variations in such exhortation towards simple writing style, it will be more serious also to remain ever aware that there are many wise and cogent arguments in defense and in support of all manner of writing, indeed, even at any risk of pretension, among them the finest works of Literature and whatever aspiration to those values, and all that in whatever way and for whatever reason quite simply does not necessarily abide by even the most excellent among all those various yet similar maxims and methods of more simple writing style. In short, that the question remains actually debatable, a matter of context, and by no mean any simple matter for smug disengaged confidence and complacency. The movement in avocation of simple writing style is important, having emerged in rebellion against writing that lacks more simple transparency, whether because of sheer mendacity or merely ineptitude and obsession. Alas that such now classics and revered wisdom in the avocation of simple writing style, is nowadays so often now so readily and blithely bandied about, even so inappropriately and over simplistically, in misguided attempt to avoid mistakes instead of doing the work of detecting and correcting errors in order thereby to learn from our mistakes. Consider the case of how court stenographers each develop their own unique shorthand, unintelligible to anyone else. And beyond such peculiar modern special case, precedent in semiliterate antiquity was common place: Because, most anciently, writing began simply as a means of private personal note taking. Indeed to this day, there are still those who tie knots as personal reminders, as knots tied on string were a means of writing and record keeping. Problems began when writing, so idiosyncratic a discipline, came into practice as a means of communication. And there's the rub: When I strive to get my ideas across but another fails to grasp my deathless prose and take my meaning, I often find myself at something of a loss, frustrated because every part of my composition seems so perfectly lucid to me, because I already know and understand, or at least think so, all that I intend and so struggle to express to others! And in truth, we are none of us so transcendently evolved beyond that primordial struggle of thinking together. But we can be poorer for the abrogation thereof. But why, some will yet protest, must the present hypertext remain so densely written? Yet what is so wrong with substantive and therefore densely written prose, only well phrased in properly ordered composition? To quote William Deresiewicz: “It’s only by concentrating, sticking to the question, being patient, letting all the parts of my mind come into play, that I arrive at an original idea. By giving my brain a chance to make associations, draw connections, take me by surprise” And hypertext facilitates detailed presentation that creative web of association upon whatever topic at hand. For to quote Henry Louis Mencken “there is always a well-known solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong.” Oversimplification is distortion. At least at first, in careful correct language, important new ideas actually tend to be somewhat convoluted, becoming concise only over a span of ongoing discourse. Hence aversion and incapacity dense writing becomes a serious intellectual impediment. Not withstanding those renowned masterful champions of simple language, it remains that many great works are monumentally wordy, their stylisms lofty and literate.
Please believe me that if I already could glean precisely what was unclear, how so any why, I would have already have revised the text accordingly. I am not an obscurantist! Indeed, of necessity, revision is ongoing. All writing confronts the challenge of understanding the audience. It can be difficult to predict what will constitute essential background and context, or else what detail merely belabors the point. And such is all the more the case in any outreach to any as yet undiscovered audience. In truth, communication often requires deep engagement, unwavering diligence and concerted effort on all sides, all so often undermined by passive hostility and recalcitrance. General complaints and demands may be too lazy and often just don't help. Perhaps such are somehow intended as somewhat unfriendly rejection and passive withdrawal in order to place the recipient in a position where their only recourse towards any progress, will be to work hard, fathom and fully embrace at all more orthodox thinking. And that's just not very nice! Or else there are some who may be the frustrated desire for simplicity and succinct brevity. But reality is often complicated. Or at any rate, such might be my own understanding of questions and problems that the author, yours truly, struggles with and investigates. I might at least as yet, just possibly fail to glean easy and graceful simplicity from the often frustrating futile and needlessly complicated Existentially Absurd clusterfuck that is life. Not without oversimplification, distortion and even worse confusion. The cult of amateurism and the fashionable contempt for expertise and meaningful depth of complexity in broadest knowledge notwithstanding, life and reality are often complicated. And this should come as no surprise. “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” - Proverbs 27:17 (KJV) In truth, that much less vexation of intellectual overload accrues from motivated interest in topic and content that matters. Take this too, gentle reader, in good faith as intended, and therefore please do be specific in analysis/deconstruction. Let's buckle down and pick apart my text together, and resolve whatever specific ambiguities arising, even for just a paragraph or two, just see see how that works out. Can that actually be so much to ask? Is it just too much trouble? As compared to what else, and to what end or desired result?Worse, many people have been taught to regard all who disagree with them, not as dialectical partners in adversarial process into the crucible of truth, but as the dreaded ideological enemy to be bullied relentlessly. crimestop then naturally comes into play, forestalling any delving into opposing reasoning, much less actually unraveling ambiguities or communication errors. Thus are embraced with such hateful fervor, the ever malignant Teachings of the Anti-Socratic and such travesty of discourse accordingly, in all devious and dishonest poor sportsmanship. Moreover, such fanatical Anti-Socratics may even so disapprove when they disagree, that they actually refuse to provide cogent criticism or rebuttal precisely because they do indeed well understand the analytical value of criticism and controversy, indeed for fear thereby of helping anyone they disagree with to sharpen and better convey their thoughts, indeed for fear, in short, of actually advancing Dialectic. To quote Aristotle: “All things in life are philosophical.” For as Socrates so famously declares: “An unexamined life is not worth the living for a human being.” Hence the rejection of Philosophy is in and of itself, an untenable philosophical position, stinking thinking and way of life. Philosophy then, may be viewed as crucial, a fundamental capability to be nurtured, regained and sustained. Indeed, many decisions in life benefit from habits of clear thinking and often beg question of Axiology, of values and priorities, and of Epistemology and how anything can be known. Philosophy after all, is founded upon the cultivation of habits of clear thinking beginning with the analysis and articulations of ambiguity and error, all so crucial to clear thinking together, to Dialectical conversational adequacy via ongoing miscommunication repair. To reiterate: Writing is rewriting and never a waste of time. To quote famously from 'Dune' by Frank Herbert: “Fear is the mind killer.” But what can we be so afraid of? To quote Franklin Delano Roosevelt: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” For as the saying goes, no question is too stupid to ask, and no answer too wise to be given. I cannot abide people who instead of speaking up, pointing out ambiguities and posing questions, only dummy up and remain silent whenever they do not understand! Alas, FoolQuest.com is not for people who operate that way. To all such individuals are proffered most sincere apologies for wasting their precious time. Philosophy and habits of clear thinking are impossible for the timid and unquestioning. To anyone so muddled and affected, please feel free to return whenever they feel more ready . Alas that many people will often make do in just getting the gist, while other will even pretend to understand when actually they have no clue. Worst are bullies nurturing whatever festering hostility. For if you make them feel secretly foolish, then they will be determined to return the favor! But honest incomprehension, so fundamental to Socratic Wisdom, is a tremendous gift to Dialectic clear thinking together. Because in order ever to delve into anything entirely new and different, it will be necessary to be able freely to question and to discuss that which one does not yet fully or even at all comprehend. All too commonly, traumatic behavioral conditioning as experienced particularly in such toxic and sanctioned formal education, immersive socialization into cultures wherein mistakes and especially honest ignorance (not knowing) are scorned and punished, anything new becomes vaguely threatening awkward and taboo, provoking only anxiety and blank silence. Granted that there is still no means by which directly to observe or experience another's mental state or consciousness, but only behavior, in Cognitive Behaviorism, enduring so influential and ubiquitous, and unlike Behaviorism hither to, compelled to accept inference of comprehension in behaviors unexplainable by sheer conditioned reflex. And yet in even the most Cognitive Behaviorism, communication is nevertheless one way, operant only towards inducing in the subject behavioral compliance. Clearly this intellectually impoverished and emotionally stunted paradigm of heteronomy to authoritarian coercion so defining of Cognitive Behaviorism, so disturbingly popular and respectable, remains as deplorably inadequate to humanity as it is to science. And yet the salient challenge of Wittgensteinean paralysis remains: Can any message as ever received and understood by any recipient, ever be brought into correspondence with the message as intended by any sender? In short, is improved intersubjectivity even howsoever at all imperfectly achievable? Most often, not without the effort. Otherwise, what will ever accrue, far from at all happily serious conversation, save merely for bypassing, blithe reciprocally unaware talking at cross-purpose, is exchange which is not genuine communication because it lacks sufficient Intersubjectivity and does not carry at all the same meanings or even purpose, intention or point at all between the participants. Is there any antidote to Wittgensteinean paralysis? Only by embracing doubt and narrowing relevant focus. Only by rejecting impossible perfectionism inherent to demands for pure and complete understanding of meaning in the mid of another. - ultimately requiring nothing less nonsensically surreal and impossible than Zen apprehension of totality of being before anything else may even be considered. Improved intersubjectivity is achieved when the comprehension of any specific and particular message by the recipient, is brought into closer correspondence with the intended message content of the sender; a desired result which even by itself, often requires purposeful, interested, engaged and adequately attentive and sustained effort in Dialectical collaboration, indeed fully engaged Dialectical Miscommunication Competence and Conversational Adequacy ongoing in Dialectical collaborative miscommunication repair. If all of that will be too much to ask, even so as to afford merely whatever most preliminary discussion any chance at all, then strategic discourse and feasibility study can only choke, sputter, collapse and dissipate. To reiterate: I simply cannot abide helpless ninnies, so utterly bereft of all Miscommunication Competence, who dummy up when they don't understand, or flagrant and deliberate obscurantist who so willfully refuse to help and offer any clarification, whenever they are simply not understood! As the saying goes, no question is too stupid to ask, and no answer too wise to be given. Never try to fake it. Don't make do just getting the gist of things if even that. Whenever you don't understand, please just speak up! Because, rest assured, I will do as much for you. Always point out and/or correct ambiguities, linguistic or otherwise, as ever arising. Because I certainly will.
In order substantively and coherently to engage in controversy which is the free exchange of criticism and even to offer relevant suggestions, in short, to help clarify and improve anyone else's message and ideas beyond just grammar and syntax, is necessary first to glean understanding of the content and intent thereof. Hence the struggle for intersubjectivity, as need be. Writing is rewriting and never a waste of time. But impressions without comprehension are unhelpful and frustrating bypassing, often neurotic and ambivalent.
Similarly, such urgent advice how better to appeal to any broader audience, is senseless without any idea of the target audience. And I do not know who is my intended audience. I do not know for whom I have omitted crucial background and context, and for whom I merely belabor the obvious. I desire, first of all, to find out who might be interested. Only then will it make any sense to discuss how better to engage them. The random casual chance site visitor is unlikely to fit. And if they are generally quite content with whatever they already prefer on the Internet, then they won't need anything new and difficult. Indeed, any content at all will only be of interest or appealing if at all, only pursuant to whatever their own agenda and not that of FoolQuest.com Likely then, such will not be my target audience.
It's not that I refuse any other entirely unrelated topic of discussion. But that is another matter entirely. As to the discourse at hand, no one need feel rejected from anything they don't actually want in the first place! This is not snobbery, but focus, and a confession of my limitation. You, gentle reader, are my target audience, if you can at all relate, if you find this website engaging, and care to risk returning the favor. The greatest exclusivity is by self-selection in the greatest openness. In the words of Simone Weil: “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.”
Impatient short attention span engenders resultant susceptibility to intellectual starvation, emotional isolation and half-baked pipedream, to unrealistic even if traditional and well accepted common sense simple solutions to daunting and complex problems. Indeed, will not the masses ever flock under the banner of promised help to achieve all of our dreams, allay all our fears, confirm our suspicions, and crush all our enemies? Why, even the very admission that of course it's all much more complicated, is only bait to draw us in with hope that, however confusing and irrelevant, it will all begin making better sense later on. But will it really ever? Or are you just going to get hurt? Indeed, be honest: Even reading this, you must be thinking: Is the wool only being pulled over my eyes yet again, right now? When will we ever learn!
Know thyself! Don't become a short attention span webstatistic!
- and all of the needless confusion thereby engendered
- What follows serves in order to head off the most alarmingly common annoying first knee-jerk response:
Adherents taking positions deemed so straightforward, uncontroverted and uncontrovertibly, frequently remain so obdurate and blithely unaware, indeed, of widespread controversy. Of opposing positions on the part of others far better informed. Indeed, simple writing style actually figures prominently on lists of bad writing advice. And rightly so. While flaws and aberrations of every kind may be complex as often as fairly simple, complexity and meaningful depth in Literature, in and of themselves, are neither flawed nor aberrant. Intersting complexity and depth, draw the reader in. Wordy, nerdy, verbose, lengthy, purple prose often features in great writing fully deserving of art appreciation. Wordy, nerdy, verbose, lengthy, purple prose paves the belabored path to the most perfect turn of phrase. Because writing is rewriting, hard work and never a waste of time.
Accept therefore, no substitutes for genuine and fully engaged cogent critique. Any writer who will never exchange fully engaged cogent critique, is no writer at all! Indeed, bah humbug therefore, to pandering oversimplification and ever popular but somewhat misguided maxims and expectations of simple writing style. Among the greatest champions of simple writing, no less than George Orwell himself, also greatly feared oversimplification and the destruction of language as a fulcrum of stupefying oppression. Because indeed, as Martin Heidegger propounds, language speaks the man: Because even human character, personality, is constructed from language. To wit: Would anyone perceive that in ‘Paradise Lost,’ John Milton strives at simplicity? Elegance an clarity certainly, but never simplicity. Point being, that simple writing style is not the only way, be all and end all. Indeed, a dullardly precept entirely sans any truly literate appreciation of meaningful depth and complexity, and without empathy or regard towards authorial intent. Actually in very principle, entirely bereft of all autonomy support. All such remaining no fit substitute to be fobbed off for the effort whatsoever at fully engaged cogent critique. And mere pretense of incomprehension, but actually disapproval, remains most insufferably Anti-Socratic of all! Therefore, oh stubborn acolytes disgorging mindless litany of simple writing style, thanks but no thanks: You are not relevant. And you are not helping!
Alas that there has been such a decline in literacy and critical thinking, as indeed democracy increasingly comes under siege everywhere. In the words of Ernest Hemingway: “All things truly wicked start from innocence.” And thus, to quote Steve Maraboli: “People tend to be generous when sharing their nonsense, fear, and ignorance.” Indeed, instead of engaging challenging or difficult substantive content, all too many will only retreat into such inane regurgitation of stock dogmatic hack bad writing advice as if greatest purls of wisdom and authority! Because one way or another, that is the lesson that they have been taught and learned full well. For such, to paraphrase C. JoyBell C., are generic people making generic responses and expecting generic answers. Indeed, many might actually seem to believe that because expression is a market commodity like any other, therefore in order to meet demand of whatever prevailing rightthink, the writer is obliged to pander to those unaware incompetent blockheads in every confidently semiliterate ideology of style and substance. Not so! Any serious author retains every right and bears full responsibility of explicitly seeking and specifying precisely whatever manner and kind of feedback as they themselves perceive the need and as most helpful and relevant. And let the reader own their own emotions. Therefore, once at last prose and composition are rendered lucid, authorial responsibility shall be well discharged and fulfilled. For to quote Alexander Butcher: “If Liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” Offend no one, and please or persuade no one either. Indeed, it does little good striving to placate those already most adamantly opposed.- Indeed, whether for stories or business/project plans or anything else, indeed for probortunity at hand (and more, anon), writing is rewriting, continual research, feasibility study and hard work, but never a waste of time. And the least of due diligence in all manner of endeavor. In the words of Marcus T. Cicero: “I'm sorry. If I’d more time, I would have written a shorter letter.” Indeed, the mainstay of science and philosophy was once the cutting edge. And the well familiar great concise ideas upon which we all rely, are often, historically, the product of brilliant minds in lifetimes of boiling it all down, volume by volume, page by page. line by line, word by word. This can't be helped. And yes, we should be glad. Therefore, in all due Socratic Wisdom, let us never fear revealing ignorance, either ones own or anyone else's. Because, as per that wisest of aphorisms: we are each and all only ignorant and fallible in different ways. But we may yet strive to buttress one another's weak points, more heads better than one. Indeed, in the words of C. S. Lewis: “Two heads are better than one, not because either is infallible, but because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction.”
L E S S I S B E S T ,
M R . N A B O K O V
Beta reading note
Simple writing style? Bah, humbug!
Emperor Joseph II: And there are simply too many notes, that's all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?
Beyond Rightthink
Frustratingly, requested feedback to FoolQuest.com as yet may more frequently become bogged down in whatever digression into even dubious maxims of writing style and even webdesign, instead of salient discourse upon actual content and agenda at hand. Considerations of English Composition and writing style here on FoolQuest.com, evidently of such burning interest, have been moved in order to be addressed here onto its own page, distinct separately from alas all too often neglected message and content. Therefore, before plunging together likely at cross-purpose into any changes in the present texts, let us consider how even most generally, there remains such ongoing controversy as to the very nature of truly helpful feedback indeed best to help improve writing clarity. And anyone making assumption of any purportedly obvious rightthink consensus on the matter, simply hasn't been paying attention to ongoing controversy on the very question, ever raging across the Internet.
- There remains an agenda of form and method, alas frequently asserting priority over and suppressing agenda of substance, the entire point, the who what where when and why, not to mention: how. For that must wait: There remain necessary preliminaries before anything else. Bear with me then, gentle reader, in trust and good will. For frustrating experience has revealed that there arises immediately a distinct and significant roadblock that must first be addressed. To wit: Certain Orwellian obstructive and toxic silly truisms are incessantly repeated as though precious purls of wisdom, alas proverbial tar babies in need of the figurative decent burial in order to liberate exchange of more serious thinking and expression. A tar baby is an issue only ensnaring the unwary in struggle all the more, drawn in to contend against it.
- One such ubiquitous tar baby truism, so seemingly constructive and innocent, remains incessant exhortation to simple writing, indeed even at the level of a small child! Alas, the emotionally and cognitively stunted great unwashed grow ever more incensed, dare one the affront of respecting their intelligence and expecting much from them! For precisely those simplistic maxims of simple writing style, remain flawed precept as indeed to be found featuring most prominently across the Net on cautionary lists in explicit criticism of stock bad writing advice. And indeed because the complexity of the challenges as at hand in the real world, are scarcely done justice by the present exposition even at its most involved. It's only a matter of Socratic Wisdom to estimate just how little one knows. Because if I actually knew even half about all that I so struggle to ever accomplish here on FoolQuest.com, there would be that much less urgency in reaching out to you out there, gentle readers.
- In truth, daunting challenges in the adult world are seldom overcome alone or at the unaware incompetence, emotional, intellectual, or even linguistic level, of a frightened small child. 1 Corinthians 13:11, kjv: "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." Indeed gentle reader, rising to adult challenge and knowing what to expect, kindly bear in mind that the present electronic document is a branching hypertext relating and associating a varied range of themes and probotunity, connecting to varied and comprehensive resources both locally here on this website and out at large on the World Wide Web. And yet, all still scarcely adequate to the lofty ambition and monumental hubris so characteristic of FoolQuest.com. Many people expect everything to be simple and easy. Many people find difficulty and take great exception to complicated and densely written hypertext, even upon any complicated topic and grappling with a complicated and difficult challenge, even no matter how interesting and important.
- Indeed, and there's the rub: anything truly helpful might kindly require of the beta reader, copy or language editor or helpful intelligent individual, linguistic metacognition and specifics in sometimes complex detail orientation. Metacognition, being the primary focus of cognitive philosophy, only means any howsoever at all systematic conscious awareness delving into whatever one's own thought processes and patterns. And herein linguistic metacognition applies to the identification, line by line, of the mechanics of incomprehension, of specific failure in linguistic comprehension of whatever message content received, indeed as ever arising. Indeed, beyond grammar, of syntax, going line by line, or in over all composition back and forth as many times as it may take. And before all else, such remains the particular feedback so indispensable and illuminating for the author of whatever message, indeed yours truly, in order then for ongoing revision towards improved lucidity of prose and coherency of composition, line by line. Fully engaged Active Reading strategies often remains all the more demanding of effort and focus than idle or casual reading. Especially if the text might benefit from needed improvement, and such remains indeed the explicit purpose.
Alas, in the face of adamant monomania, there can only be such frustrating disconnect, when it becomes impossible to explain or to express, much less to intelligibly discuss or honestly explore, circumstances, reasons or sensibilities guiding writing style and even webdesign and composition of hypertext, in this case so voluminously dense and detailed, as pursuant to content and purpose, coming to grips with daunting and complicated ambition, so often prey to distortions of uncritical willful positivity and drastic oversimplification. Crucial to all knowledge work, Socratic Wisdom as opposed to unaware incompetence, only means gauging the scope of ones own ignorance meaning: limitations of individual knowledge, knowing that one does not know, and wondering how much one does not know.
- The culture of literate critique versus the ideological poverty of oversimplification and fashionably simple writing always dumbing everything down.
- Precisely why, If I hear just one more time about simple writing style, I swear I'm gonna spray chunks!
To quote Stephen Hawking: “The Greatest Enemy of Knowledge is not Ignorance, It is the Illusion of Knowledge.” Attention yea misguided staunch advocates of simplistic writing style to the stubborn and obdurate exclusion of anything else: As to the intellectual poverty of smug short attention and much vaunted simple writing: New ideas are often confusing. Only shopworn and well familiar old ideas are certain always to come across effortlessly. The mainstay of science and philosophy was once the cutting edge. The well familiar great concise ideas upon which we all rely, are often, historically, the product of brilliant minds in lifetimes of boiling it all down, volume by volume, page by page, line by line, word by word. Because writing is like photography: Easy to do but difficult to do well. In whatever context or application, writing is rewriting, hard work and never a waste of time. But to always get it right the first time, say very little and dare nothing new. And such remains real world drama, wherein interesting complexity draws us in, no less than in any compelling work of fiction. Further more, no one will be put off by writing style, even however rich and complex, that resonates personally. Such writing garners praise. Tweeting (or X-ing?) truthfully can be challenging, because of that notorious word count limitation. Truth will not endure oversimplification. Truth can be simplified only to whatever degree, before becoming distorted into nonsense or falsehood. But comforting falsehood that need not correspond to objective reality, faces no such limitation. Liars always have the simplest argument, for those lazy thinkers so easily won over thereby. But such impoverished rhetoric raises suspicion among more honest and intelligent folks. Nevertheless, resorting to all manner of the most blatant and complicated nonsense and falsehood, reactionary ideologues tend to dismiss accurate detail and complexity as needless convolution and even resort to conspiracy theories. Then they wax nostalgic: One day when the battle is won, the world will return to blissful simplicity!
• The Alt-Right Playbook: You Can't Get Snakes from Chicken Eggs
Do unfashionably heightened language and dense writing style, let alone voluminously comprehensive hypertext, ever actually increase substance and depth of content? In a word: Yes. Unapologetically: They can and do. And there is no heavier burden in richer content, only greater range of choice and interest. All as befitting due respect for the reader's time, attention and intellect.
And yet, no writer or speaker must ever transfer responsibility for their own expressive shortcomings, to whatever audience so put upon. Yes, all too true: Every effort on the part of the author to write more clearly, spares successive readers needles aggravation. Such trouble spared even perhaps by any somewhat inconsiderate writer, accrues multiplied struggle and needless irritation for any such future readers. It's never easy. Because there can be no shortcuts among serious responsible adults. And all of that is precisely why every writer both maintains every right and bears full responsibility of specifying the nature and kind of feedback deemed most helpful in advancing authorial intent. And such present terms of use should be well obvious agenda of philosophy and habits of clear thinking together, so fundamental and prerequisite to all else, freely and tenaciously questioning whatever is not understood. Because the Socratic Wisdom of questioning whatever is not understood is not any anomaly or bothersome inconvenience, but actually inherent to the human condition, intellect and consciousness, let alone communication and Active Reading at the level of FoolQuest.com And again, hence the present digression.
- The tar baby: Well may one ask: What can possibly be so wrong merely with anything seemingly so innocuous as advocating simple writing style? Plenty, and there's the rub! To begin with, it remains deplorably bad writing advice to exclude all else save for simple writing style, indeed actually semiliterate! But worse, the blithe expectation becomes omni purpose lazy dismissal of any conceivable effort at questioning and working out whatever is not understood, even in order to help revise more clearly. But perhaps most importantly, somehow the misguided maxim has become an ideology. A blithely dogmatic ideology among such Orwellian obstructive and silly demands incessantly pressed as though greatest purls of wisdom and commandments from On High. Alas that such proverbial tar babies remain in need of figurative decent burial in order to liberate exchange of more serious thinking and expression in order to begin debating such important disagreements openly and seriously. A tar baby is an issue only ensnaring the unwary in struggle all the more, drawn in to contend against it. And one such ubiquitous tar baby remains the wide spread and angry perception of entitlement for dumbing everything down and pandering to short attention dullardly people pleasing willful positivity and ineffectual pipedream. And all hence the oppressive and ill considered imperative of simpleminded simple writing.
- Indeed, perhaps however surprisingly to many so dogmatic, cocksure and blithely unaware of controversy long raging across the Net, here shall be argued the poverty of precisely that prevalent rigid view. For precisely those simplistic maxims of simple writing style, remain flawed precept as indeed to be found featuring most prominently across the Net on cautionary lists in explicit criticism of stock bad writing advice. And yet those blockheads all still find themselves so consumed in preoccupation with imperatives of correct webdesign and/or simple writing style, and quite without regard to dangers of distortion from oversimplification, and all so as to preclude or obviate even salient and literate critique or editing remarks, much less actually engagement on topic? What disengaged proselytizing smug self-righteous invalidation, even when naively well intended. In case actually of reading difficulty, indeed as so often reported, there remains a body of less convenient and dismissive better and more pertinent options at remedy in the true discipline of the writing craft for any serious writer. And the key remains not in rejecting effort in very principle, but to the contrary, in full engagement.
- Indeed, a specific taxonomy of tar baby awaits lurking in a particularly toxic invalidating mixed message, to ensnare the unwary in dishonest ambiguity of purportedly helping and benevolently correcting while at the same time, simply refusing to engage in authorial purpose, whereof after all, one so stridently disagrees and even actually disapproves. -A deviously invalidating and manipulative emotional bait-and-switch! Rather than such devious conditionality in assistance, as to press the author entirely at cross-purpose to authorial intent, far better instead openly to initiate creation of an entirely new and different project of ones own, and then to politely enlist the other's assistance! Because subversion of initial purpose, is no longer any offer of cooperation with and to another, but actually a solicitation thereof from another, and all towards whatever ones own distinctly different ends. And as ever, honesty remains best policy, to openly debate best alternatives of purpose and strategy.
- To wit: Alas that to begin with, even complaining of incomprehension, even quite without derision, and let alone demanding simple writing in pandering accommodation to fashionably unserious and anti-intellectual short attention and oversimplification, is not even remotely the same agenda as actually requesting clarification let alone proffering assistance therein. The latter after all, remaining the entire legitimate and valuable agenda of actual critique, even however candid and brutally honest. By contrast, all such exasperating "help" only steamrolling forth in whatever its own blockheaded ideology such as above, quite without even polite curiosity as to whatever the author struggles to express or achieve, only manipulatively feigns such Existential Validation of helpful well intention. Meanwhile in subtext of toxic Ulterior Transactions or: headgames of Anti-Socratic knee-jerk invalidation, only exerting compulsion somehow to comply with whatever inane expectations of sophomoric peer pressure, indeed embraced as divine commandment and purls of wisdom. Indeed, the most slippery and irritating cross-purpose of ulterior agenda, actually bordering upon trolling replete with typically pointless and irrelevant soft-flame. And such remains no legitimate mode of discourse, no semblance either of salient writing critique or of Socratic controversy, of free, open and appreciated exchange of criticism, so crucial to all collaboration among equals in creative solution finding, bold ambition, fearless endeavor and Eudemonia all therein.
- The entire blithely dogmatic ideology of Anti-Critical braindead short attention and therefore simple writing style, only reflects a certain sense of inadequacy and disappointment that life is neither simple nor easy, but fraught with difficulty and error. No less insidious than outright defeatism, Pollyanna willfully optimistic expectation of everything desirable to become simple and easy or else just a matter of unflagging determination and persistence, just isn't realistic. Nor is just giving up in surprise, discouraged at every hurdle arising. The entire responsible agenda of realistic feasibility study, remains foreseeable estimation of difficulty and complexity, not to mention eustress vs. dystress among myriad other priorities, of whatever proposed undertakings and objectives. Indeed, the most important function of business or project planning remains the Socratic practice of controversy, the free, open and appreciated exchange of criticism, ongoing error detection in order to discover foreseeable obstacles, exposing and even, if need be, actually and actively discouraging flawed ideas, in ongoing process of elimination. But only among those willingly amenable to any such fault finding process together, quintessentially entrepreneurial and artistic serial failures, resolved ever to return to that proverbial drawing board, as many times as it takes, until at last meeting with success. And the clustered mind map drawing board of FoolQuest.com charting the real world Hero's Journey, remains the venerable and sage modern medium known as hypertext:
No one seems even capable to conceive, much less willing duly to consider, that indeed as herein, that there remains need to write more simply, but rather best to organize and refine content: Most elegantly and coherently to express and then optimally to configure complex interrelationship of associated information and ideas. And yes, this pertains not only to writing style, but to webdesign and hypertext. And it's a matter of Socratic Wisdom. Because, no, I don't make things more complicated. They truly are more complicated, more complicated and daunting than we dare imagine. And all too often very much subject to distortion by cavalier and reckless oversimplification from all manner of grifters, knaves and fools falsely promising that everything can be simple and easy. No shortcuts: Believe me, if I already knew and understood precisely whatever might be unclear, how so and why, I would already have revised accordingly. And that will be a matter of specifics in detail orientation, and not those braindead generalities so harped upon. Pedants make pupils jump through hoops, but helpful feedback fully engages, no matter how candid, brutally honest, harsh and critical, even line by line. Easy to do but difficult to do well, writing is rewriting, hard work and never a waste of time. Therefore, in entirely straight forward purport to all previous exasperated hyperbole, the following analogy of robotic nonresponse is proffered: Solving algebraic equations, by way of illustrative example, indeed entails simplification achieved by reducing the number of nested parentheses, a confusing and daunting process for the uninitiated. By way of analogy for purpose of illustration, let it be supposed that there might remain, indeed, I'm sure, some especially annoyingly obtuse Inductivist who will only demand, incessantly and repeatedly, the simplification of algebra, determinedly unhelpful and refusing to correct mistakes or offer any helpful suggestions or cogent explanation. One might even come to suspect that such a hypothetical mathematician might finally be unmasked as a fraud, yet another academic charlatan, with no germ of an idea what they are talking about at all: Just one more intellectually lazy know-nothing know-it-all, so readily confounded by any earnest seeker of truth. Because, like Richard P. Feynman, "I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” Indeed, as the saying goes, no question is too stupid to ask, and no answer too wise to be given. However, the vexation at hand is no such hypothetical dubious math help, but actual and celebrated routine writing maxim, dogmatism exactly and as determinedly obtuse and unhelpful. That is your way, it is not mine! Thus spake Zarathustra. For beware: The thrust of Robert Frost's famous poem 'The Road not Taken,' is not rugged individualism at all: “It is a poem about the necessity of choosing that somehow, like its author, never makes a choice itself. ”As suggested in the above parable, actually even somewhat self-righteously invalidating dismissive short attention exhortation to simple writing style, simply comes not to any point! It's an easy out. Because such short attention generality and invalidatingly dismissive platitude as such adamant exhortations to simple writing style, utterly fail to engage the text, indeed even simply to point out precisely whatever linguistic ambiguities or difficulties in syntax or composition howsoever in need of whatever improvement or clarification, let alone actually addressing indeed perhaps even somewhat complicated content. So, if any of this actually applies to you, Sir or Madame, please: Stop talking at me, and start talking to me! Should the point at hand by now at all seem even somewhat belabored, then hopefully the matter must be clear and lucid, even somewhat obvious.
- What: More inane exhortations to simple writing style?And shall such comprise the entirety of your response to FoolQuest.com ?
- But what can ever possibly remain so utterly counterproductive from merely advocating simple and clear writing? Answer: Because you're not helping!
- Such short attention generality, pseudo engagement and dismissive invalidating platitudes, simply do not meet the needs of helpful feedback, utterly failing to engage the text,
- indeed even simply to point out precisely whatever ambiguities in syntax and composition, let alone actually addressing content. Also: Grammarly is Artificial Stupidity!
- Writing is rewriting and never a waste of time! And such remains the focus and objective together of actual critique.
- Please believe me: If I already understood precisely whatever might remain unclear, how so and why, I would already have revised accordingly. Hence my exasperation.
- What follows will be full exposition ever as needed, regarding the proffer of cogent critique and editing remarks. Thank you.
- Even sheer incomprehension is a beginning and no dire impasse. Critique is dialogue. A writer is no writer, who will never engage in critique.
Them “Big words” are only “big” because other's curiosity, intellect, or hunger for knowledge is small. - Quant
- Emperor Joseph II: And there are simply too many notes, that's all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect.
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?
- Critique however harsh, engages and actually even seeks to abet authorial intent of content. For criticism remains inherently friendly, an expression of abiding respect. Whereas unhelpful short attention demands from rightthink remain blithely insensate to sheer cross-purpose, and a demonstration of contempt. Moreover, attack upon stylism (or nowadays even webdesign) instead of actual content, has always served as cover for ideological disapproval and enmity.
- No one seems even capable to conceive, much less willing duly to consider, that indeed herein I do not need to write more simply, but rather best to organize: Most elegantly and coherently to express and then optimally to configure complex interrelationship of associated information and ideas. And yes, this pertains not only to writing style, but to webdesign and hypertext. So, try not to chip a nail clicking on the links! And it's all a matter of Socratic Wisdom. Because, no, I don't make things more complicated. They truly are more complicated, more complicated and daunting than dare we imagine. And all too often very much subject to distortion by cavalier and reckless oversimplification from all manner of grifters, knaves and fools falsely promising that everything can be simple and easy. No shortcuts: Believe me, if I already knew and understood precisely whatever might be unclear, how so and why, I would already have revised accordingly. And that will be a matter of specifics in detail orientation, and not those braindead generalities so harped upon. Pedants make pupils jump through hoops, but helpful feedback fully engages, no matter how candid, brutally honest, harsh and critical, even line by line. After all, writing is rewriting and never a waste of time.
- Just please, talk to me, not at me! No more stock and interchangeable invalidatingly disengaged rightthink diatribes and litany upon correct webdesign or simple writing style. Gotta head'm off at the pass! Don't wanna go through this yet again! But well may one ask: What can ever possibly remain so terribly wrong, so utterly counterproductive from merely advocating simple and clear writing? Answer: Because you're not helping! The point remaining kindly to bear in mind purpose at hand as herein expounded, before seeking to correct me. That would be far more helpful.
- No shortcuts! To reiterate: Believe me, if I already knew and understood precisely whatever might be unclear, how so and why, I would already have revised accordingly. And that will be a matter of specifics in detail orientation, and not those braindead generalities so harped upon. Pedants make pupils jump through hoops, but helpful feedback fully engages, no matter how candid, brutally honest, harsh and critical, even line by line. After all, writing is rewriting and never a waste of time.
- Well may one query: What can be so terrible about advocating simple clear writing and webdesign presentation? Answer: Because you are not helping! Any fellow writer never engaging in the exchange of literate critique, alas is no writer at all. Even the most harsh, direct and honest criticism, including literate critique, remains inherently friendly, an expression of abiding respect, simply by ever coming to the point. And among all manner of considerations in serious writing, before all else subject to scrutiny and revision, perhaps first will be lucidity of prose. Even out from sheer incomprehension, there will always be salient questions one might put to another, in order better to understand anything another ever struggles to express, even cultivation of better appreciation of whatever their approach to that very struggle. Similarly, there may be specific communications errors and ambiguities as might come to light in order to be pointed out and brought to their attention. Even simply in order to proffer cogent rebuttal, it helps first to clearly understand the opposing arguments. Only in such learning curve and process of ongoing error detection and correction, of collaborative Miscommunication Competent Dialectical miscommunication repair, emerges the the attainment of Intersubjectivity.
- In cogent critique, the question remains not of writing style options or even of webdesign, all in a vacuum, and not even of grammar but of syntax. Whereas grammar refers to conjugation, functions and relation of elements in any particular sentence, syntax defines organization of linguistic expression meaningfully and coherently. And in cogent critique, not merely in general principle even however edifying, but in specific application to discrete lines of text within, and over all composition of, specific prose treated thereby.
- And hence my exasperation at cross-purpose, no illuminating and insightful Dialectic in noble practice of controversy, but merely endless gainsaying. For many who say that they cannot understand, actually just disapprove, and so vehemently, that however dedicated and devoted, ever do they remain so loath actually to criticize, because indeed they do fear thereby actually to make themselves too helpful. Yes, deep down, some do indeed well understand the value of criticism that they so trenchantly and deviously withhold! And such conduct, even however oppressively sincere, in stubborn and persistent practice yet borders upon pernicious soft-flame.
- Moreover, in truth, web standards will always be hotly debated, and simple writing style actually figures prominently on lists of bad writing advice. And rightly so. And yet these stirred up hornet's nests of know nothing know-it-all cretin dogmatists, so ideologically pure, remain ever adamantly certain and cocksure that no one would ever disagree with them or ever purposefully express themselves differently than they! But the shoe is on the other foot. Those blockheads indeed so patently oblivious to all aforesaid pertinent controversy raging across the Net, are truly the ones in dire need to be corrected instead to embrace critical thinking and learn the venerable process of literate critique! A writer so closed off and never engaging in any exchange of critique, is no writer at all! That is your way, it is not mine. Thus spake Zarathustra! For beware: The thrust of Robert Frost's famous poem 'The Road not Taken,' is not rugged individualism at all: “It is a poem about the necessity of choosing that somehow, like its author, never makes a choice itself. ”
- Should ever one disapprove because one misunderstands, then the better one comes to understand, then perhaps thereby the less one might eventually disapprove. But if one utterly fails to comprehend but already strongly disapproves, then ever the better one come to understands, then likely only the more harshly shall one disapprove! Therefore gentle reader, are we already working at cross-purposes?
- Smug disengaged exhortations to simple writing style, let alone any blithe recommendation of Grammarly! remains insultingly lazy and dismissive, nothing profound. Only unfriendly and evasive soft-flame upon an ideological enemy, in disapproval and pontification upon a craven imperative to dumb everything down to pabulum. Better far, yes speaking of being simple and direct, undemanding and honest disinterest, without undue Moralism rubbing it in.
- First of all, what remain the true responsibilities of any informative or argumentative writer? Answer: First of all, to strive at writing clearly. After that, leave the reader not only to form their own opinions, but even to experience their own emotional responses and then own them and acknowledge responsibly. let the reader have their own feelings! Persuasion may be the objective, but never obligation, neither for author nor audience. In any case, simply for detecting and correcting any whatever deficiency in prose, towards writing more clearly, there is nothing so outlandish in that a writer may request according to whatever their own clear understanding of whatever specific nature of actually helpful feedback to request from beta reading language and copy editing remarks.
- And there's the rub! Alas, in asking for response to my work, I often only encounter the wrong audience, disapproving and not actually interested, and thereby stir up a hornets nest of adamantly committed sheer irrelevance. Meaningful critique even however harsh and honest, actually working with content, then at least cogent editing notes to specific actual content, is all to be welcomed. But the stubborn invalidation expressed in demands for impossible sweeping changes, entirely without consciousness and concern or even reference to message of content, and without regard to authorial intent, all just leave me cold. These cretin dogmatists need to learn and embrace the venerable process of literate critique. That would help enable them to relate to others even in the course of heated disagreement. And I can accept nothing less. It remains that I can neither relate, engage nor frame any pertinent response in good faith sensemaking whatsoever, indeed save as author and indeed from authorial intent of content. That will be far less aggravating and much more fun!
- And believe you me, if only I already knew precisely and specifically whatever remains unclear, point by point, how so and why, I would already have revised accordingly. Indeed, revision is ever ongoing. In best service to capability, anyone should be permitted, indeed actually respected and encouraged, to reach out and freely specify whatever kind of help and advice they themselves might ever deem as beneficial and pertinent. Because original thinking remains nonstandard, and calls for individual attention, not stock generalities and platitude of short attention and invalidation.
Yes, all to true: Every effort on the part of the author to write more clearly, spares successive readers needles aggravation. Indeed, such remains the responsibility of the writer striving at writing clearly. But do not burden the writer with expectations of reception on the part of hypothetical average readers, least of all as regarding mere stylism. Who says that this mythical average reader is the intended audience. let alone whatever be all and end all exalted bench mark of all human thought? let the reader have their own individyal feelings! That little may even open the way for discussion hitherto closed under a bitter subtext of derisive incomprehension. Any meaningful prose must often search or its receptive audience. An intended audience of serious and receptive readers, however scarce, will never be so frivolous and picayune as that wishy-washy hypothetical average reader, a construct often doing some injustice to ordinary people.- And so: Is simple writing style merely a means to an end after all, or actually an end in and of itself, a proverbial sacred cow beyond all admissible reproach or substitution? Because if simple writing style remains only a perfectly sensible means to improve writing, then just perhaps, simple writing style is only one possible strategy among any number of entirely viable strategies and alternative for quality and clarity in writing, of which, barring sheer dogmatism, the various merits each whereof, might be compared under varying circumstances, in order best to choose among them, case by case. Indeed, just to the contrary, what about actually enriching the exploration and emphasis of prose, even with the most needles ornament and stylistic flourish, indeed as have the educated citizens and Literary masters in days of yore? Indeed, consider the previous sentence: It runs a little long, yet remaining well balanced. In the English language, we never use five words when eight will do! Of course, the point remaining that neither stylistic opposite negates the need for feedback to the actual text, to content, rather than dogged fixation upon blockheaded empty generalities.
- Too serious and yet not serious at all, it is only such unmitigated proselytizing dogmatism and one dimensional thinking, that ruins any sensible striving for simple writing style, if that's what you're into. Alas that mass literacy has given way to a decline in functioning literacy. It remains better to resist and continue cultivating attitudes of literacy, than to to surrender and accommodate. Ultimately, people who demand only the most simplistic answers to the most complicated problems in life, will never be well served.
- While all manner of innovative standardization has consistently fostered great advance in civilization, the inevitable standardization of thought and expression in particular, ever threatens the downfall of civil society. Indeed, all regurgitation of such braindead unhelpful short attention platitude and invalidating generality as such misguidedly dogmatic exhortation to simple writing, entirely fail to locate, much less critique, specific ambiguities or errors. -Let alone even showing the simple respect of actually addressing content... All that accrues from such platitudinous generality amounts to a pointless guessing game, as to whatever specifically might actually remain unclearly written, how so and why. And I so dislike such annoying guessing games. I tend to guess wrong. Dismissive invalidating generalities and platitudes, pseudoengagement of that nature, as per quintessential example, the misguidedly dogmatic short attention exhortation to simple writing, simply constitute no actual effort whatsoever, at focused critique, let alone helpful comment or cogent rebuttal at all to any point. And so, the exchange of substantive critique, error detection and correction, remains among my own chosen and vastly preferred writing values. Any questions?
- Helping while keeping distance can be toxic rather than helpful. Writing is complicated. Serious writing is not for short attention and passive invalidation. Nor is fully engaged Active Reading. Such unhelpful rightthink and platitudinous sweeping generalities of invalidation and short attention, as fanatical exhortation to simple writing style, only fail even to critique or correct specific textual ambiguities or errors, much to less address content or to render practical assistance, let alone to to provide the more specific advice as herein requested.
In the words not as misattributed to Alexander Butcher himself quoting, but of George Orwell according to Quote Investigator: "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people things they do not want to hear.” Attacking writing style, composition and even somehow thereby character Ad Hominem, while simply ignoring content or evading pointed criticism, used to be the favored stock diversionary soft-flame pseudoengagement tactic in order to sidestep content of which, actually, the reviewer somehow disapproves. Then eventually howsoever faulty webdesign supplanted politically objectionable writing style and composition as the favored
red herring. It's always something!
By contrast, all too scarce genuine interest and respect will come as so refreshing. Pardon then my frustration, ever mounting to the point of exasperation. Much as I hate to bury the lead, it may be urgently important to address this issue first: And thank you. gentle reader. For in those immortal words of Simone Weil: “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity." Because we live in an attention economy, often indeed so distant, frugal and miserable. A culture online, of short attention and minimal transitory engagement. And indignant stock responses are undeniably so highly economical. But who are we all saving ourselves for? Pay attention to me, damn it! Be interested, be interesting. Stay interested. And we may yet reap the return, together, from sound emotional and intellectual investment. Take a chance on me and on one another, gentle readers. Gentle reader, search your soul: Can you be trustworthy and responsible? To quote Frederick Law Olmsted: "After all is said and done, much is said and little is done." But why is such so often the case? Might there be discovered any correlation between the quality of discourse, mentality, relevance and good faith, and viability of ensuing action ever taken? That is the question!
Alas, even barring the most unseemly and blatant personal hostility, there remains often a certain blithe pseudoengagement and invalidation buttressed by a set of stock answers taken by so many as the very font of wisdom. And the admonition to simple writing, often out of context, remains among the foremost and most celebrated. Alas, in the first place, that complaining of general incomprehension, is not the same as actually requesting specific clarification. Because only the latter even actually expresses any open interest. While the former likely remains merely entrapment into the closed stone-deaf powerplay toxic Ulterior Transactions or: headgames of sly invalidation .
To quote Anton Chekhov: “... only he is an emancipated thinker who is not afraid to write foolish things.” Fearless of seeming howsoever pretentious, intelligent people who make the effort of thinking, routinely discuss what is not understood, precisely because it is not yet understood. After all, how else do anyone learn? Alas that for many, precisely that little yet remains simply unthinkable. But how much will be lost in translation, dumbing everything down for them?Indeed, even at the risk of malign equivalence, among the greatest champions of unadorned simple language, George Orwell, also foresaw rampant simplification as instituted via conlang, constructed language, to the point of frustrating all dissident thought, let alone free expression. Orwell's fictional Newspeak is a conlang, a constructed language, of planned phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, much like Basic English in reality, of which Orwell remained all too keenly aware.
All therefore beware simplistic short attention imperatives in exhortation of insipid simplistic writing. Indeed, what if it remains actually the content that will be so challenging or complicated? For the flat out denial of all complexity as ever arising, is neither elegant nor concise. And the true path to excellence in clear writing with both substance and style, remains not in the dismissive regurgitation of silly rules, but in the attentive exchange of fully engaged critique. Solitary serious writers actually break isolation, often only via the exchange of critique. And ever the struggle of attentive exchange of fully engaged critique remains truly laudable motive for Socratic Dialectic in penetration of authorial intent and attainment of Intersubjectivity, achieved when the comprehension of a message by the recipient, comes into closer correspondence with the intended message content of the sender. Only thus does intelligent response and full attention emerge into possibility. Again: Writing is rewriting and never a waste of time. And the least of due diligence. To quote Sholem Asch: "Writing comes more easily if you have something to say." But to always get it right the first time, say very little and nothing new.
- Accept no substitutes! As Eve Tushnet expounds in ‘Eros and Education,’ Eros, so enticing and so threatening, is nothing more or less than profound reciprocal engagement traversing into alien difference. For close human relationship is Eros which is transport in liberating union with alien difference also called: psychological visibility that penetrates psychological asymmetry. Because curiosity, the leading edge of will, remains the agent of compassion. Curiosity even embraces variation and complexity, otherwise resented and rejected. Without curiosity, there can be no concern for others or even regarding external reality to begin with. Indeed, not even compassion for oneself. Incomprehension and/or complexity must inspire either Eros, engaging curiosity and interest, or else crimestop aversion and boredom. Because incomprehension is one thing, and disinterest is quite another. Either engage or don't! And question whatever is not understood. There is no substitute for full engagement, certainly not silly maxims about simple writing. Such puerile dodges as blithe admonition to simple writing, as a pretext for disinterest and inattention, comes as a slap in the face under ostensibly plausible denial. Of course there is no obligation to make any better effort, and therefore no need of excuses. It's all of the needless excuses that remain such galling waste of time in such aggravation of needless invalidating short attention pseudoengagement. No one is always interested, all of the time, in everything or everyone. For example, I am just not interested in being preached to about simple writing. Not unless specific ambiguities and errors will be located and addressed. Therefore, in case of simple disinterest, first of all just own it! But then beware crimestop.
Why all them big four dollar words you been a'spoutin' all the time? How pretentious! Tisk, tisk. Look: If anything matters to begin with, but clicking a hyperlink provided, let alone actually using a search engine to look up unfamiliar terminology and more, is all simply too much trouble, then any further effort at anything more, will surely remain quite out of the question. In that case, do pray tell: Exactly what alternatives without much greater effort than any as aforesaid, will be deemed preferable, and to precisely what likely and hoped for result? Is the problem incomprehension or whatever sense of futility, just apathy, anxiety and resentment? Precious hope must be invested with care. If there is a better offer, then take it.
FoolQuest.com is an appeal to anyone interested. But FoolQuest.com cannot be all things to all people. Indeed, precisely what does anyone uninterested expect from that which they are simply not interested in? Often, especially if they have actually been consulted after all, they perceive a problem to be corrected, and then expect somehow to be catered to. And even not just at such juncture arising, but in the embrace of a cause, by everyone everywhere, in all of writing, whatsoever, indeed as per case in point, in a world transformed, a world of simple clarity. - the eradication of all intellectual challenge, at least for laypeople. But how and when are any such expectations ever reasonable or actually informing of helpful critique in the here and now?Should ever one disapprove because one misunderstands, then the better one comes to understand, then perhaps thereby the less one might eventually disapprove. But if one utterly fails to comprehend but already strongly disapproves, then ever the better one come to understands, then likely only the more harshly shall one disapprove! Therefore gentle reader, are we already working at cross-purposes?
Stranger danger: Trust remains essential, yet trust is so frequently abused and betrayed. Worse, for many, communications difficulty routinely inspires such caginess and mistrust. New vocabulary, hitherto unknown, must be some sly and deadly insult! After all, we all know how to say "fuck you" in Yiddish: "Trust me, trust me!" And levity notwithstanding, when the level of trust remains so low and utterly paranoid, one reflexively limits ones risk, involvement and candor. In general, arbitrary rules are not meaningful reasons. And in particular, maxims of simple writing style, whatever their own merits in broadest principle, may be wielded as a rebuff in conditionality, a snare into aggravating routine disengagement and thereby invalidation via sheer irrelevance, deriving Existential Validation in whatever trivializing ideology. Among all Ulterior Transactions or: headgames of sly invalidation, tactics stubborn digression off topic may fall under the category of stone-deaf powerplay. To quote George Orwell yet again: “A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing,” The integral memeplex, the sly and plausibly deniable implication by behavior remaining, not merely as to the right to disagree or even to disapprove, but that until the speaker conforms, such speakers must be denied any attention. And yes, that can indeed become outright Orwellian.