[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
[Author Index (this month)][Thread Index (this month)][Top of Archive]

Re: Original work [was RE: STC certification program: skepticalcurmudgeonlyness, part II]

Subject: Re: Original work [was RE: STC certification program: skepticalcurmudgeonlyness, part II]
From: mbaker <mbaker -at- analecta -dot- com>
To: "Janoff, Steve" <sjanoff -at- illumina -dot- com>
Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2011 21:48:59 -0400

On 21/10/2011 5:10 PM, Janoff, Steve wrote:

I believe what he was doing was trying to identify two processes, and
two mindsets, and the best way he came up with to characterize them
was the writer-as-artist (think "artiste" or "auteur"), versus the
writer-as-engineer (more of a systems approach). One way is full of
ego, and the other way sets aside ego in favor of the larger goal.

Steve, I think you are probably right that my difference with Weiss has more to do with choice of words than substance. However, I don't think ego is necessarily the cause of "artiste" behavior. If ego precluded working in an industrial fashion, we would not have bridges, skyscrapers, or iPads. The great engineering egoists make the industrial process the instrument of their ego.

If anything, I think the artisan is driven more by fear than ego. The refusal to let anyone see anything until it has been completed and polished to perfection is more often the product of a thin skin than an outsized ego. The egoist has the confidence to show what he is working on and the force of will to persevere through criticism and opposition.

Actually, though, the continued adherence to the artisan model in tech pubs probably has far more to do with habit, a lack of understanding of how an industrial model would work, and unfamiliarity with the kinds of tools and processes that it would involve. Desktop publishing is an artisan tool, and pubs remains largely a victim of the desktop publishing revolution.

Mark
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.
http://www.doctohelp.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat

References:
RE: Original work [was RE: STC certification program: skeptical curmudgeonlyness, part II]: From: Janoff, Steve
RE: Original work [was RE: STC certification program: skepticalcurmudgeonlyness, part II]: From: Mark Baker
RE: Original work [was RE: STC certification program: skepticalcurmudgeonlyness, part II]: From: Janoff, Steve
RE: Original work [was RE: STC certification program: skepticalcurmudgeonlyness, part II]: From: Mark Baker
RE: Original work [was RE: STC certification program: skepticalcurmudgeonlyness, part II]: From: Janoff, Steve

Previous by Author: Re: To coin a phrase
Next by Author: Re: Original work [was RE: STC certification program:skepticalcurmudgeonlyness, part II]
Previous by Thread: Re: Original work [was RE: STC certification program:skepticalcurmudgeonlyness, part II]
Next by Thread: RE: Original work [was RE: STC certification program: skeptical curmudgeonlyness, part II]

[Top of Archive] | [Author Index (this month)] | [Thread Index (this month)]

What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:

Sponsored Ads