yes, i am stumped!! the thing is clear from one of the comments. actually i was a bit sleepy (still am) and skimmed thru it, and missed the part after the cut. Fantastic post though.
I have a question:
I am a real beginner here in this forum. Although i read a lot, the language used by you and many others in this forum is very high quality. The sentences are huge, which have to be re-read sometimes to understand what is being said. Although i know i will feel more comfortable with time, is it really simple english that is used in this forum? simple is relative, but lets say, is the english used here simple when compared with english used in most of the “standard” philosophy books or sites? i hope i am able to put across my point!!!
I’d say that most of the writing here is much simpler than most academic philosophy, although some writers (including me) are fond of convoluted sentences now and then. Keep in mind also that English is a second language for many of the other contributors as well...
Also, welcome to Less Wrong! If you haven’t yet visited the welcome thread, you should click over and say a bit about yourself.
I’d say that most of the writing here is much simpler than most academic philosophy
I would expect the writing here to be more difficult for a reader for whom English is a second language than the writing in the average philosophy book because the writing here is closer to informal spoken language.
Good question! We do have a lot of participants from not-primarily-English-speaking-countries, so perhaps one of them would be able to answer this better. However, this forum is filled with a higher-than-average number of quirky intellectuals, and we do love our jargon. Also, to seem more expert and smart, we even throw in technical jargon from our own respective fields! Okay, so there are actually good reasons for that other than showing off. But yes, I’d imagine the English here is very difficult as compared to even other smarty-pants forums on the web.
yes, i am stumped!! the thing is clear from one of the comments. actually i was a bit sleepy (still am) and skimmed thru it, and missed the part after the cut. Fantastic post though.
I have a question: I am a real beginner here in this forum. Although i read a lot, the language used by you and many others in this forum is very high quality. The sentences are huge, which have to be re-read sometimes to understand what is being said. Although i know i will feel more comfortable with time, is it really simple english that is used in this forum? simple is relative, but lets say, is the english used here simple when compared with english used in most of the “standard” philosophy books or sites? i hope i am able to put across my point!!!
I’d say that most of the writing here is much simpler than most academic philosophy, although some writers (including me) are fond of convoluted sentences now and then. Keep in mind also that English is a second language for many of the other contributors as well...
Also, welcome to Less Wrong! If you haven’t yet visited the welcome thread, you should click over and say a bit about yourself.
I would expect the writing here to be more difficult for a reader for whom English is a second language than the writing in the average philosophy book because the writing here is closer to informal spoken language.
Good question! We do have a lot of participants from not-primarily-English-speaking-countries, so perhaps one of them would be able to answer this better. However, this forum is filled with a higher-than-average number of quirky intellectuals, and we do love our jargon. Also, to seem more expert and smart, we even throw in technical jargon from our own respective fields! Okay, so there are actually good reasons for that other than showing off. But yes, I’d imagine the English here is very difficult as compared to even other smarty-pants forums on the web.