TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Chicken and the Egg From:Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:Techwrl-l <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 12 Jun 2000 19:07:21 -0700 (PDT)
Okay - forget all I said about the New Economy and Tyler Durden. It comes down
to this:
Structure cannot exist without content. Because structure needs content to hold
it up.
Layers, buildings, chickens, eggs, whatever. Bunch of stupid analogies.
Analogies are like a-holes. We all have one and they all smell like crap.
Here's a bigger a-hole: This argument is a simple equation of existence:
Matter + energy = product.
You can have matter. Lots of it in fact. The universe is chock full of matter.
But some force must be imposed upon that matter before it makes sense. Without
the matter - the force has really nothing to do. Light can shoot through space
forever - but if it never hits any matter - it can't really accomplish
anything.
Likewise, matter can lie around forever, but unless something comes along and
rams a force against it, it won't ever be much that just chaotic matter. But at
least there is something there. No matter and endless energy is a frightening
universe.
A process without content react against - is nothing. Its a bunch of esoteric
bullshit. Check this out...
1. Stop
2. Insert finger into Sub-adjuct 293a
3. Wipe the norhump into your phased greep.
4. Reboot the JDS23
5. Examine the fooper looper with your pooper scooper.
That is a process. But since you don't understand the content - it is
meaningless. I could sit here night and day dreaming up processes that sound
REALLY cool. But, without something to use them on, I might as well be stacking
BBs or fighting my imaginary friend.
How do you know if the process is correct if you do not understand what is
going into the process. Ever hear of GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT? Well, a process
managed by idiots only produces idiotic stuff.
I hear a lot of clatter about single-souring this and SGML that and Hackos book
- blah blah blah. Just blather. Here a rule you can always trust to be true:
"YOU CANNOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCE AN INTELLIGENT DOCUMENT IF YOU DO
NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE WRITING ABOUT."
Want to test this brilliant theory of mine? Go grab a 5 year old off the
street and make them write a document about how to develop stored procedures in
Oracle PL/SQL. You can create as many processes about fonts to use, tools,
where to submit the documents - but you can't ever tell them what PL/SQL is or
how it works - or even what is stands for (can't allow the kid to learn any
content)
Outcome:
A) you will not get a useful document B) the police will haul you away for
torturing a child with a lethal weapon (processes).
Get the idea?
Now go back to work before I tell your boss what you do in the bathroom with
the soap.
