I'm shocked to find myself defending the general public, but I do think that
you are grossly overstating the issue. The American understanding of
advertising is complex. Individual's reactions are not simply based on what
they are told, especially in an advertisement. If this were true, you would
Is it really oversimplification and is it really a problem? I agree
that things 8th graders were reading 100 years ago are things college
students struggle with now. Take children's literature, such as Alice
in Wonderland (which does not present a wordy style) or What Katy Did
Next (which is
Graduate Research Assistantships in Forest Soils / Biogeochemistry
The Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia
Tech is seeking
applicants for multiple graduate research assistantships (4 PhD and 1 MS)
expected to begin in the
summer or fall of 2010. Research
You make a really good point and I appreciate that you are bringing up this
important issue. I am an environmental educator and have worked with
hundreds of students from across the country over the past few years. Here
is a shocking fact I learned during my graduate studies: most of what
children
It is interesting to see how scientific writing fits with these rules.
Consider (iv) Never use the passive where you can use the active. This is
certainly not the case with modern scientific writing, but it used to be -
consider Newton's Principia, in which every proposition begins with Dico
On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 10:43 AM, Alyson Mack alym...@gmail.com wrote:
the sad truth is, our children ARE becoming more stupid every year. The fact
Do you have any evidence for this claim? IQ scores have been rising
pretty steadily for a century. (Look up the Flynn effect
Maybe Cara has stated my case more clearly than I have, but I would only add
that, to me at least, clarity IS beauty.
WT
Eschew obfuscation. --author unknown
- Original Message -
From: Cara Lin Bridgman cara@msa.hinet.net
To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU
Sent: Sunday, January 17,
As a scientist AND a journalist, I would say that Orwell is right, and
that you seem to be sorely misguided. There is nothing wrong with
writing CLEARLY. Active voice, fewer syllables, etc., etc., do
absolutely nothing to lower reading comprehension among the masses. It
does absolutely
Well, the original poster was not decrying the streamlining of writing,
or the lack of difficulty in reading conveying the same information as
more difficult reading. He was decrying the reduction in information
content of modern textbooks compared to older ones. As a long-time (40
years,
All:
Methinks there be a flock of sheep who could do with a bit o' shearin' o' at
least a wee bit o' excess wool, yet a smidgen of rhetoric, if it illuminates
rather than benights the message, or even stimulates enquiry, could be a
more therapeutic than painful massage. If 'tis relevant,
Forwarded at Henshel's request...
Original Message
Subject:Re: [ECOLOG-L] now I've seen it all
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:56:25 -0500
From: Diane S. Henshel dhens...@gmail.com
To: David M. Lawrence d...@fuzzo.com
CC: ECOLOG-L@listserv.umd.edu
Thank you
I must take issue with the phrase one of the few foods native to North
America and would like to reciprocate Geoffrey's reference with a reference
to a book that my mother wrote called The Taste Makers: How New World Foods
came to Old World Kitchens which describes numerous foods from the
Several subscribers have disagreed with my statement about passive/active
voice, and I stand corrected. Perhaps the case was best stated by someone
who wrote me off-list to say I have noticed a change in the last 4
years...I was instructed by many to use the passive voice and to shy away
from
With respect to the biofuels potential of one of the few foods native to North
America, Helianthus tuberosus, let me suggest an entertaining read:
The Great Jerusalem Artichoke Circus: The Buying and Selling of the Rural
American Dream by JA Amato.
Here's the synopsis from the publisher's
Hanno you bring up a very intriguing point about the distinction between
what people trust in the medical science community versus the academic
science community. I had never put that together but I think you're right
on. I get dismayed at how trusting people are of their doctors, and how
doctors
From:
malcolm McCallum malcolm.mccal...@herpconbio.org
Date:
Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:11:47 -0600
At what point does the scientific community realize that the current
surge in patent medicines and nonsense medical devices are seriously
eroding the nation's confidence in science?
This is not directly
At age 60, I estimate that I personally have taught, advised, and
mentored more than 2,500 college undergraduates over a period of 37
years. From 2007-2009, I also served as Interim Director of KU's
Undergraduate Biology Program, the single largest undergraduate teaching
unit at the
17 matches
Mail list logo
