Another perspective from Ludwig Wittgenstein, who managed (probably) to say most of what needs to be said about "language" and "brevity" by barely saying anything:
“A serious and good philosophical work could be written consisting entirely of jokes.”
“Only describe, don't explain.”
and the extraordinarily potent, “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.”
I'm glad I've come across this post as it means I will never have to read what sounds like a truly soulless book! Imagine if everyone wrote with 'Smart Brevity' all the time. There would be no art in literature.
Rules can improve writing in certain contexts, but in reality the best writing is often the result of breaking them. If brevity was all that made good writing then a certain social media platform that enforces a limited character count would be a bastion of good writing. And we all know how incorrect a characterisation that is!
I use dearth, challenge, and ubiquitous in conversation all the time! So there, Smart Brevity peeps!
(And I wonder which guy you're referring to . . . :-) )
Hahaha, that guy ...
Me too, and now I'm using ubiquitous even more just because they said not to, lol. Did you notice I put it in the subtitle? ;-)
I didn't notice, you clever gal!!
Another perspective from Ludwig Wittgenstein, who managed (probably) to say most of what needs to be said about "language" and "brevity" by barely saying anything:
“A serious and good philosophical work could be written consisting entirely of jokes.”
“Only describe, don't explain.”
and the extraordinarily potent, “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.”
Good quotes, but I guess he never wrote that "serious and good philosophical work" of which he spoke?
Most of us speak quite a bit of things whereof we should not speak!
So many great points in this article! In the interest of brevity, I'll just say: brevity is work.
😀
I'm glad I've come across this post as it means I will never have to read what sounds like a truly soulless book! Imagine if everyone wrote with 'Smart Brevity' all the time. There would be no art in literature.
Rules can improve writing in certain contexts, but in reality the best writing is often the result of breaking them. If brevity was all that made good writing then a certain social media platform that enforces a limited character count would be a bastion of good writing. And we all know how incorrect a characterisation that is!
Thanks for reading! In fairness, the book does have some good points for certain kinds of communications. But only certain kinds!
Thanks! This post is not TLDR, IMO.
I see it had an influence on you, LOL!