Constraints force brevity
In No Resistance Is Futile, Paul Ford talks about how constraints (write without the letter “e”; use only one-syllable words; make every sentence exactly N words) can force you out of windbaggery.
Now when I face a new writing project, I open a spreadsheet. I want a grid to keep track of sources and dates, or to make certain that the timeline of a story makes sense. The grid imposes brevity. Relationships between sentences are exposed. Editing becomes a more explicit act of sorting, shuffling, balancing paragraphs. In this spirit, I’m rewriting some blog software to read directly from Excel. We’ll see how that goes.
Related: Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity In Words of Four Letters or Less
It's not “I have a nightmare”
In Challenges to Both Left and Right on Global Warming, a pair of young environmental thinkers argue that gloom and doom environmental messages will fail if applied to global warming.
Instead they call for an aggressive effort to invest in energy research, while also building societies that can be resilient in the face of the warming that is already unavoidable.
In a recent interview, Mr. Shellenberger reprised a central point of the essay and book. “Martin Luther King didn’t give the ‘I have a nightmare’ speech, he gave an ‘I have a dream’ speech,” Mr. Shellenberger said. “We need a politics that is positive and that inspires people around an exciting and inspiring vision.”
Get hated
Polarize Me says, “If you want people to like you, first decide who needs to hate you.”
As a dater on Match.com, you have two key ways to communicate something quickly about yourself: a picture and a headline. The pic, of course, should embrace the social norm and be from 10 years and 20 pounds ago.
With the headline, you can start from scratch. Given the stakes, these headlines should really zing. They don’t. We examined more than 1,000 Match.com ads—from men and women, old and young. Our search yielded headlines like this one: “Hey.” Folks, if your opening line is “Hey,” you better be hot.
Another said “Looking for love.” Well, duh, you’re on Match.com. At least two-thirds of the headlines said nothing—and did it poorly.
Why do these headlines suck so much? Fear. Fear of saying too much. Fear of saying something clever that someone might think is stupid. Fear of saying something revealing that might turn someone off. The headlines try desperately not to exclude anyone. In doing so, they succeed at boring everyone.
Road sign copy Make it short analyzes road sign verbiage and the need for instant comprehension.
Very few people are able to read this fast. And driving at high speed makes it impossible for most. First of all, it is hard to read because it uses only uppercase letters. Secondly, excessive and irregular gaps annoy the eye. Thirdly, lack of space between the lines turns the text into a mess.
The lesson: Sometimes the words need to sink in right away. “Any message is to be designed with regard to the circumstances in which it is going to be received.”
“The most successful single piece of advertising in the history of the world”
The fabled “Two Young Men…” letter written by freelancer Martin Conroy, first sent out in 1974 and mailed continuously for over 25 years.
On a beautiful late spring afternoon, twenty-five years ago, two young men graduated from the same college. They were very much alike, these two young men. Both had been better than average students, both were personable and both—as young college graduates are—were filled with ambitious dreams for the future.
Recently, these men returned to their college for their 25th reunion.
They were still very much alike. Both were happily married. Both had three children. And both, it turned out, had gone to work for the same Midwestern manufacturing company after graduation, and were still there.
But there was a difference. One of the men was manager of a small department of that company. The other was its president.
What Made The Difference
Have you ever wondered, as I have, what makes this kind of difference in people’s lives? It isn’t a native intelligence or talent or dedication. It isn’t that one person wants success and the other doesn’t.
The difference lies in what each person knows and how he or she makes use of that knowledge.
And that is why I am writing to you and to people like you about The Wall Street Journal. For that is the whole purpose of The Journal: to give its readers knowledge—knowledge that they can use in business.
译文:
关于写作：约束，噩梦VS梦想，寻找怀恨者及其他
简洁来自约束
在《没有一种约束是无效的》（ No Resistance Is Futile）的文章中，Paul Ford阐述了约束如何让我们不再罗嗦（不写带“E”的词，只用单音节词，保证每个句子只有几个单词。）
现在我手头正有一个报告，于是我打开了电子表格。我想用一个表格记录数据及起来源，或者保证它的时间性清晰。这样，表格就增加了简洁性。句子之间的关系变的很清楚。编辑也更清晰地成为了截短，移动，平衡段落的动作。于是，我又重新写了几个博客软件，这些都直接可以从EXCEL上读出来。接下来，我们看看，这是怎么操作的。
相关链接：Albert Einstein,用四字以内的话阐述相对论（Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity In Words of Four Letters or Less）
这不是个噩梦
在《面对全球变暖的挑战》（Challenges to Both Left and Right on Global Warming）中，2个关注环境的年轻人提出，那些全球变暖的消息不会再令人郁闷。
事实上，他们呼吁在能源研究上加大投资力度，建设具有弹性的社会，以面对无法避免的全球变暖问题。
最近，Shellenberger在采访中重申他论文和书里一个中心观点:Martin Luther King的演讲是“我有一个梦想”，而非“我有一个恶梦”。同时，他说，“我们需要积极的政策，并激励身边的人，振奋一下人心。”
你是否不受欢迎?
“使我两极化”（Polarize Me ）一文说，“如果你希望别人喜欢你，你必须先了解他们为什么讨厌你。”
假如你是MATCH.COM的会员，你有两个关键的方法展现你自己：照片和标题。当然，照片要符合社会标准。
至于标题，你可以从介绍自己开始。其实他们可以充满活力，但是却没有。
我们验证了超过一千个MATCH.COM会员的自我介绍标题，有男人，女人，老人和年轻人。我们发现这种开头“嘿！”很好。各位，假如你也能以“嘿！”开头，这样会很受欢迎。
也有人写“寻找爱人。”咄，你觉得你在哪？你是在match.com！但三分之二的人什么都不写，当然很没吸引力。
为什么这些标题那么糟？因为害怕。害怕说的太多。怕有些东西说的太清楚反而让别人感觉这人很傻。怕有些东西说出来别人会不喜欢。因为他们不想错过任何一个人。结果，谁都不喜欢他们。
路标
“简洁些”（Make it short）一文分析道，路标过于罗嗦，并指出人们需要快速明白里面的内容。
很少人能在短时间里读懂这些路标。当然大部分人在快速行驶的时候就更看不懂了。第一，因为路标用的都是大写字母，很难读懂。第二，过多和不规则的空隙让人眼花。第三，字里行间缺少间隔，让人感觉内容凌乱。
这给我们一个教训，就是有的时候字与字之间要排列得当。“写任何信息都要考虑到它能否在特定环境下被读懂。”
“史上最成功的一则广告”
由自由作家 MARTIN CONROY写的虚构信“两个年轻人”（The fabled “Two Young Men…” letter ），在1974第一次发出，至今以连续传递超过了25年。
25年前的一个美丽晚春的下午，两个年轻人从同一个大学毕业。他们彼此很像。都是优秀的学生，有风度，和其他毕业生一样，对未来满怀憧憬。
最近，他们又回到了学校，25年后的重逢。
他们依然那么像。一样美满的婚姻，一样都有三个孩子。而且毕业后去了同一家中东的公司，直到现在。
但有一个不同，一个是那家公司里一个小部门的经理，另一个是总裁。
怎么会不同
你是否和我一样，想知道是什么造就了人们不同的生活?不是天生的智力或自我的努力。不是一个想成功而另一个不想。
这个不同在于每个人所学知识的不同，和他或她如何运用这些知识。
这就是我为什么要让你以及和你一样的人了解华尔街日报。因为这就是华尔街日报的目的：让它的读者学到知识，可以在商场里运用的知识。