TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: Reading and Editing--thinking in pictures From:"SM Rush" <sellar -at- apptechsys -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 24 Oct 2001 13:13:08 -0700
Geneve--
Thanks for that book reference and the excerpts. I was amazed to read the
passage about having to create language before creating tools. I can't even
imagine being held back by not knowing what to call a pointy thing that fits
into that hole in the ground. Now collaborating with others on inventing,
that's another story.
This is quite relevant to tech writing and modern day inventing. The
programmers I work with are constantly creating new concepts, new functions,
without thinking about names or explanations. One of my biggest jobs is to
develop the language that goes with what they've created, and to develop a
consistency in naming.
Sometimes, however, (and I wish I could think of a good example) there are
problems with the concept that don't become clear until I try to describe
them. I think this has to do with parallels. Sometimes a function or a
concept is in some way related (or meant to be related) to another concept
or function. It is only when I articulate how it works that we see it isn't
a good parallel or doesn't really do what we'd thought. Usually the clue is
in the verbs.
_______________________
sella rush
applied technical systems
silverdale, wa
developers of CCM knowledge discovery
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Announcing new options for IPCC 01, October 24-27 in Santa Fe,
New Mexico: attend the entire event or select a single day.
For details and online registration, visit http://ieeepcs.org/2001
Your monthly sponsorship message here reaches more than
5000 technical writers, providing 2,500,000+ monthly impressions.
Contact Eric (ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com) for details and availability.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
