Economical writing by Deirdre McClosky is an excellent book of 35 rules for clear prose. In the final chapter she quotes Mark Twain’s seven rules for good style.
The writer should
say what he is proposing to say, not merely come near it;
use the right word, not its second cousin;
eschew surplusage;
not omit necessary details;
avoid slovenliness of form;
use good grammar; and
employ a simple and straightforward style.
These seven are worth following, as are McClosky’s thirty-five.
Simon Willison’s principles for link blogs: include names, add value, be liberal with quotes. Why? One reason is that
Sharing interesting links with commentary is a low effort, high value way to contribute to internet life at large.
Simon Willison wrote a good overview of LLMs at the end of 2024:
“The key skill in getting the most out of LLMs is learning to work with tech that is both inherently unreliable and incredibly powerful at the same time. This is a decidedly non-obvious skill to acquire!”
This week I picked up a complete set of Icelandic folklore and adventures, collected by Jón Árnason. Six volumes of insights. Food for thought for a few weeks or even months.
When we cease to understand the world by Benjamín Labatut is a profound book that captures the reader, compelling him to read through, ideally in one sitting. It navigates between fact and fiction, weaving together story and truth.
I am still processing what I’ve read, but feel this is a book I will come back to again.
What shines through is deep respect for the subjects of the book, men who have dedicated their lives to understanding but also unravelling our understanding.
December is a time of transition. In the north days shorten until 21 December, seemingly an eternal dusk where sunrise turns into sunset all too soon. On a clear day you can enjoy views like this. Then the day starts getting longer and longer and longer until six months later there is no night. Beautiful, but also challenging.
