Someone close to me, much to my annoyance, has for years insisted that the same applies equally to writers who lay claim to logic, argument or worldly judgment. Writing – any writing – is like knitting, he says. It’s an unintellectual knack that some people have naturally, and which develops astonishingly with practice, but which lots of clever people can’t do.
This has always annoyed me profoundly, as it is meant to, but I feel forced to agree that there may be something in it. We should be careful, both readers and writers, of the bewitchment of language: it can often mean less than you might think.
There’s a lot of truth in that. Think of cogent, convincing, writing as a branch of rhetoric rather than the revealed truth I think.
6 responses so far ↓
1 Kay Tie // Dec 28, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Well obviously – our Richie (aka WGCE) seems to be able to pass on and amplify memes quite successfully, yet has no logical reasoning abilities.
2 Peter Spence // Dec 28, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Indeed, just look at the Grauniad and its corrupt mendacious columnists.
3 MarkS // Dec 28, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Shouldn’t writers and journalists be licensed and properly qualified before expounding their views publicly? A government backed qualification would ensure uniform standards.
4 Martin // Dec 28, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Tim,
I didn’t write a word of commentary until I was 32. I just found out one day I could do it.
5 john b // Dec 29, 2008 at 2:21 am
*cough* @4.
6 Martin // Dec 29, 2008 at 6:55 am
*fart*@5.
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