Re: The Best American Science Writing 2003

From: David Preiss (david.preiss@yale.edu)
Date: Mon Sep 29 2003 - 05:51:42 PDT


Oh, it was me that made that request. Thanks a lot! Casually, I just found
the following quote:

The best science writing "has a swiftness and naturalness, a transparency
and clarity, not clogged with pretentiousness or literary artifice"

a very interesting one because of the implicit association between
pretentiousness and the literary and the implicit contrast between science
writing as transparent and non science (literary?) writing as non
transparent, which is something I can't help but disagree. But maybe I am
adding too much to the text and there is too much on the eye of the
beholder.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Smagorinsky" <smago@coe.uga.edu>
To: <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2003 8:19 AM
Subject: Re: The Best American Science Writing 2003

> This is a followup to the request of last week or so for science writing
> for the layperson. p
> At 08:20 PM 9/28/2003 -0400, you wrote:
> >Hi Peter,
> >
> >This is a topic that interests me. (I am doing research on writing).
Could
> >you tell us what stroke your eye in the excerpt you sent us?
> >
> >David
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Peter Smagorinsky" <smago@coe.uga.edu>
> >To: <xmca@ucsd.edu>
> >Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2003 10:45 PM
> >Subject: The Best American Science Writing 2003
> >
> >
> > > from today's newspaper:
> > >
> > > > The Best American Science Writing 2003. Edited by Oliver Sacks
(Ecco
> > > Press, $27.50 hardback, $13.95 paperback). The best science writing
"has a
> > > swiftness and naturalness, a transparency and clarity, not clogged
with
> > > pretentiousness or literary artifice," says Sacks, a neurologist and
the
> > > author of "Uncle Tungsten," "Awakenings" and other books. This
wonderfully
> > > eclectic anthology includes engaging explorations into subjects
ranging
> > > from botany to physics, cognition to evolutionary biology --- from
Brendan
> > > Koemer's discussion of how drug companies market new diseases to Susan
> > > Milius' investigation into the colors of autumn leaves.



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