RE: Examples of Minimalist Writing

["Boudreaux, Madelyn (GE Healthcare, consultant)" <MadelynBoudreaux -at- ge -dot- com>]

>While there's overlap between minimalism and plain language, 
>they're really two very different subjects.
 
Well, heck. I've definitely conflated the two. 
 
How would you define them, and in what ways are they different? Would
you consider that minimalist writing is the ultimate plain language
writing? Or do they have different goals? 
 
One person's minimalism is another's baroque, I'd think.At what point
(if any) does something become so minimalist that it's essentially
useless to all but the users who really don't need anything at all? Is a
drive toward minimalism good for the users? Is it possible that
"minimalism" is a learning type. Some people learn visually, others
aurally, and others kinetically; perhaps some people learn best by being
presented with minimalist information; if so, do you do a disservice to
other learners by moving toward minimalism?
 
I write for medical devices, so as we discussed before, EVERY bobble and
wingding must be noted, EVERY time. Possibly, I wouldn't even recognize
minimalist technical writing as technical writing at all, much like
someone who assumes all animals must move around wouldn't recognize
corals as animals. :) 
 

Sincerely, 
Madelyn 

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