On the Rhetoric of E-Mail

[Carrol Cox <cbcox@xxxxxxxxx>]

Ian Murray wrote:
>
> [Jim D]:
> >
> > Feynman's view that "Science is a way of trying not to fool
> > yourself" is obviously about what science _should be_,
> > not what it actually _is_.
> > Just > > because many scientists do fool themselves does
> > not undermine the point.
> >
> >

> I was not attempting to undermine your point. Nor Feynman's.

E-mail should not be clever, it should not be terse, elliptical, or
allusive. It should not use irony or sarcasm, and its overall style
should be deductive -- i.e., start with a plainly stated general point,
followed by any arguments for it. Do not build up to a climax, put your
climax at the beginning. Following this procedure would cut down
considerably on flame wars, both deliberate and real misconstruals, etc.
etc. etc.

Carrol