Heidegger and Derrida are the main two I’ve come across. Both use several pages to say something they could’ve said in one. I can kind of forgive Derrida though as he is actively looking at this very thing in his writing. I still think he did himself moe harm than good by purposefully trying to be obscure. — I like sushi

Derrida has some good ideas, but his writing and explication can be tedious.

Very informative is the dialog. It explicates the process of idea development and emphasizes the critique.

Do not write sentences so long they become paragraphs. Be succinct and smile at the reader.

Take your reader by the hand and imagine her/him to be a friend. Once in a while address him/her as "dear reader". Make them part of the story, let them feel the cold, see the colors, understand the theories you use, meet the gods you describe, feel the struggle, and experience the storm and lightning. Give them a book that absorbs them and leaves left of the.a puddle of water only.

Take your reader by the hand and imagine her/him to be a friend. Once in a while address him/her as "dear reader". Make them part of the story, let them feel the cold, see the colors, understand the theories you use, meet the gods you describe, feel the struggle, and experience the storm and lightning. Give them a book that absorbs them and leaves left of the.a puddle of water only. — Hillary

I've seen writing manual mention that. Tell the reader where the argument is and where it is going.

Do not write sentences so long they become paragraphs. — jgill

Kant writes paragraph long sentences. At the end you can't remember what the point was.

Kant writes paragraph long sentences — Jackson

There was a famous novelist who wrote this way in the 1960s I think. Can't recall is name.

Another point of discussion is: what is the most effective way to write possible? — Joseph Walsh

In addition to the good advice by the other participants:

Know your audience!

Using termini technici can shorten and thus clarify a discussion among your peers who know those terms. It also can make your writing unreadable to a general audience.

Repeat yourself!

Don't fear repetition. Humans are not computers who remember a definition perfectly, once given. They have to familiarize with new ideas. The natural form of learning is by association with multiple examples. The pattern seeking function of our brains is forming the concept, not the definition. E.g.: how did you learn what a chair is? Have you been given a definition by which you compare objects and decide whether they fall into the "chair" category?

Employ test readers!

This is a bit of methodology. You don't know whether your writing is effective until you have tested it. Give it to some typical members of your target audience and listen to their critique. And not only that, test them. Have some questions prepared to test if they understood what you were saying.

Write so that it would be understandable to a reasonably intelligent 10 year-old. — Terrapin Station

:up: :clap: I'm currently reading a children's book on philosophy. The writing is incredibly clear and to the point. From what I can gather, it ain't easy.

gobbledygook — Joseph Walsh

While others have given valuable tips on how to wield a pen like a pro, I'm more interested in what some here identify as incoherent speech/writing which in your book is gobbledygook. That's the psychologist in me I guess - such speech/text are considered a hallmark of insanity.

Have you heard of the infinite monkey theorem? Maybe the entire human race is an experiment along those lines. If so, some of us are, by that very fact, going to spew out utter bullshit.

Try writing nonsense, it's not as easy as it looks which is telling as far as I'm concerned.

There's more that can be said but chew on that for the moment.

Agent Smith will be back with more (hopefully) interesting thoughts...

While others have given valuable tips on how to wield a pen like a pro, I'm more interested in what some here identify as incoherent speech/writing which in your book is gobbledygook. That's the psychologist in me I guess - such speech/text are considered a hallmark of insanity. — Agent Smith

"As the ego cogito, subjectivity is the consciousness that represents something, relates this representation back to itself, and so gathers with itself."

Martin Heidegger

"As the ego cogito, subjectivity is the consciousness that represents something, relates this representation back to itself, and so gathers with itself."

Martin Heidegger — ArmChairPhilosopher

Muchas gracias for a sample of Heidegger. One needs to be extra cautious when diagnosing incoherence in translations though - much is lost in translation. Comic relief for you $\downarrow$. The World's Worst Translator.



Martin Heidegger probably wrote for a select audience; perhaps he was taking the first few steps into uncharted territory: hic sunt dracones.

Arguments are fucking boring! Who likes to argue? Instead, the reader likes juicy real-life examples and weird abstractions, presented in page-turning format. You gotta lure the reader into temptation and wonder, instead of making him yawn because if knowing where the story goes already after the first 10 pages (which would be a great bedtime story! It has it merit!).

Muchas gracias for a sample of Heidegger. One needs to be extra cautious when diagnosing incoherence in translations though - much is lost in translation. — Agent Smith

I can assure you that he makes as much sense in German.

Not everyone agrees on that...

I can assure you that he makes as much sense in German. — ArmChairPhilosopher

Then 'tis time to study/analyze the German mind! Are Germans cuckoo? :chin: They seem to churn out one Nobel Laureate after another, confounding factors notwithstanding. Don't forget the Nobel Prize was established only in 1901.

There's a thin line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line. — Oscar Levant

Are Germans cuckoo? :chin: — Agent Smith

Not all of them (though from my point of view, most people are normal). We have our share but by far not as many as the US has. We make up for the numbers with quality. Every now and then we have someone so crazy it exceeds all bounds.

I'm currently reading a children's book on philosophy. — Agent Smith

What's the name of the book?

What's the name of the book? — T Clark

Philosophy A Visual Encyclopedia

Philosophy A Visual Encyclopedia — Agent Smith

Went on Libby library app, borrowed book, looked interesting, put it on list of gifts for next Christmas. What a world we live in now.

Thanks.

Thanks — T Clark

My pleasure.

I would like to know because my writing tends to come across that way. — Joseph Walsh

This is a good start. You're accepting responsibility for communication, and not blaming your reader for not understanding you. :)

I'm currently reading a children's book on philosophy — Agent Smith

Post a few excerpts please. Looks interesting. :chin:

Post a few excerpts please. Looks interesting. :chin: — jgill

I can't. I'm using my cell phone; the book's on my laptop. I'll post some snippets from it when I next use my laptop.

Is it about Sophie?

Have you heard of the infinite monkey theorem? — Agent Smith

What's your monkey business about?

:chin:

No offense AS! I read that, according to you, we might be young chimps and now that we might be monkeys. So, monkey business.

No offense AS! I read that, according to you, we might be young chimps and now that we might be monkeys. So, monkey business. — Hillary

:ok: