Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Tuesday, May 3. 2011

How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One

A review of Stanley Fish's book of the above title. One quote:



For Fish a great sentence is like a great athletic performance. It is an example of something done supremely well, so well that it cannot be bettered. Other similar feats will come along, but only to stand alongside it. What exactly is done in such a performance? There is no single answer, indeed no finite answer since there is no limit to the things that can be done with words. But it is what Conrad called the “shape and ring” of sentences, the perfect adaptation of form to achievement, that Fish wants to share.


Posted by The Barrister in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 12:43 | Comments (7) | Trackbacks (0)

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"indeed no finite answer since there is no limit to the things that can be done with words."

There's a finite limit with a finite number of words.

Too much humanities, not enough math.
#1 rhhardin (Link) on 2011-05-03 14:45 (Reply)
There are a finite number of musical notes and yet endless variations of musical pieces.
#1.1 Tom Francis on 2011-05-03 15:57 (Reply)
I count the number of words in the sentence, or the number of notes in the piece.

A Hardin diagonalization.
#1.1.1 rhhardin (Link) on 2011-05-03 17:26 (Reply)
It is an example of something done supremely well, so well that it cannot be bettered.

Barf. Reach for the stars, fall on your face. The reviewer is actually serious. Why can't academics write?
#1.1.2 chuck on 2011-05-03 21:42 (Reply)
So does "I can has cheezburger?" count?
#2 Gig___Al on 2011-05-03 17:38 (Reply)
"We"

Who?

"humans"

Who?

"can appreciate"

Who?

"many things."

Who?

Who?

Who?

Who?
#3 fortcww on 2011-05-04 02:09 (Reply)
Before you can craft a coherent sentence, first you need to have a coherent thought.
#4 Alan Kellogg (Link) on 2011-05-05 20:52 (Reply)

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