I just happened to stumble upon this post, and I just have to voice my opinion. Although this is in the context of this post, I'm not talking to anyone in particular, just ranting about the general attitude of certain LW users who have it in their head that they are better than everyone else, and therefore have to flaunt their superior intelligence.
First of all, NO ONE IS PERFECT. Just because someone is not perfect does not mean they're stupid. Also, just because someone is not as smart as you does not mean they're stupid.
Normal people; a.k.a. your target audience, will not get anything from this. How can someone learn and get better at something if they are bombarded with things like this?
I know what you're trying to say. It's the same thing I've always known. I didn't learn anything new, barring perhaps, all the new words I had to look up just to read a basic idea I learned in elementary school. Using "advanced" words and inserting godawfully pointless charts is not going to make you look any smarter, at least not in my eyes. It's just going to make me wonder, "Why did you take a page to say what I could say in one or two sentences?
I know writing needs depth. How do you go about doing that? All this tutorial taught me was what I needed to do, not how to do it.
Or perhaps I'm missing something, because I'm an idiot. Oh...or maybe I'm just a normal person, who wants to see a helpful writing tutorial that they can actually understand.
You want me to write better? Then step down off your pedestal and lower yourself to the level of everyone else.
I am not a dumb person. Far from it, in fact. I won't bring any silly things like grades or test scores into this, because that's not what intelligence truly is. But I'm not a genious. I make mistakes. I'm not perfect. I try to get better at things I struggle with. Some people have trouble with writing. It's not their fault. They try, but if all they get is criticism, how will that help them? If they come across a writing tutorial they can barely understand, how will that help them? It would discourage me.
As eloquent and educated as your post may sound, it is useless for its intended purpose: To inform people who need to be informed.
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Chemists do it periodically on a table.
Physicists do it until it hertz.
*For the wretched of the earth, there a flame that never dies
Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise*