After posting a rewrite of an assignment to defend my area of interest, I reread the “Logic: Layers of Evidence” lecture and “A Writer’s Decisions” (Zinsser, chap. 23). Both have left me with misgivings about the work I just completed. Was it sound? Am I on the right track, or should I scrap the blog I started as a class assignment to explore my areas of interest, improve my writing skills, and, possibly, showcase my writing talents with the objective of future and continued employment?
The topic I chose for my blog is, loosely, the relationship between real-world architecture and information architecture. Others have written about this topic, although I think not extensively. The objective of these writers has been to use the analogy to explain what information architecture is, how it is employed, and why it matters. A few, such as blogger and Princeton Ph.D. candidate, Molly Wright Steenson, have written about this topic extensively, and it appears, with great precision.
My own blogging effort has been more a define-as-I-go enterprise. Rereading Zinsser’s statement that writing is clear and sequential and that logic is the glue that holds it together gives me pause, as does Professor Nichol’s statement that “you must provide layers of evidence in order to persuade others of your conclusion.”
The analogies I make, comparing bytes to words to bricks, and optical illusions to my blog topic, are tenuous. I cannot see a way to make an irrefutable argument that I am correct, but at a gut level I believe that I am. The tenuous relationship of bytes to bricks allows exploration into a wide area, as technology draws the physical and virtual worlds closer together. The reference to optical illusion sets the stage for that exploration. I do not doubt the Zinsser and Nichols are correct. Logic is the glue that holds writing together, and layers of evidence must be provided to support your conclusion. But I contend that there is also room for a leap of faith. However tenuous the relationship between building blocks of electrons, building blocks of thought, and building blocks of physical material, the relationship is there, and it is worth exploring.
Post a Comment