As probably everyone does. But you missed the thread topic. Why can't you just stop reading when you want and take a pause, instead of a paragraph?I've always found a wall of text to be unappealing.
This wasn't about 'sides'; it was about how it seems everyone prefers paragraphing, but why it's as hard to read without them as it is. Why can't people read a paragraph worth, pause, then read more? Yet it's hard.
As probably everyone does. But you missed the thread topic. Why can't you just stop reading when you want and take a pause, instead of a paragraph?
They're visual clues that the topic is changing.Why can't you just stop reading when you want and take a pause, instead of a paragraph?
I think we have become accustomed to reading with paragraphs. I think if raised from a child never using or knowing about paragraphs I think we would be able to read just fine. I am sure our brain would adapt just the same as we have adapted to having paragraphs.As probably everyone does. But you missed the thread topic. Why can't you just stop reading when you want and take a pause, instead of a paragraph?
I think we have become accustomed to reading with paragraphs. I think if raised from a child never using or knowing about paragraphs I think we would be able to read just fine. I am sure our brain would adapt just the same as we have adapted to having paragraphs.
It's not quite that simple, though. And they still have spaces and punctuation - commas and so on.They're visual clues that the topic is changing.
People have short attention spans and walls of text may cause them to stop reading.
Theyservethesamefunctionasspacebetweenwordsallowingorganizationofthougtsandnotingchangeofsubject.It'sdifficultforsomepeopletodiscernchangesanddeterminemeaningwithouttheaidofspaces.
It's not quite that simple, though. And they still have spaces and punctuation - commas and so on.
As probably everyone does. But you missed the thread topic. Why can't you just stop reading when you want and take a pause, instead of a paragraph?
excellent observationI think we have become accustomed to reading with paragraphs. I think if raised from a child never using or knowing about paragraphs I think we would be able to read just fine. I am sure our brain would adapt just the same as we have adapted to having paragraphs.
Flip that. Why can't the author simply insert paragraphs?
You are totally missing the thread topic.
excellent observation
wiping our asses with toilet paper is another unnecessary, tho positive, intrusion on our lives we could end. we're adaptable
Then you are clearly not expressing it in digestable terms.
This wasn't about 'sides';
it was about how it seems everyone prefers paragraphing, but why it's as hard to read without them as it is. Why can't people read a paragraph worth, pause, then read more? Yet it's hard.
I've always found a wall of text to be unappealing.
While I agree can you use proper paragraphs and still just be rambling on about nothing? I have typed half a page and deleted the whole thing because I did not know where I was going with it.Fair enough.
The raison d'etre of most non-artistic writing is to communicate your ideas. Proper paragraphing facilitates that communication. It makes it easier to understand.
Often this involves each paragraph having a central idea, that involves a topic sentence leading in, the main body where the topic sentence is expounded upon and evidence is presented, and then a concluding sentence. A paragraph is a mini form of the greater essay, where the essay has a topic paragraph, a body, and a concluding paragraph.
Obviously, I'm generalizing.
But the underlying premise is to facilitate the clearest & easiest understanding for the reader. And it is generally believed paragraphing assists in this. As a reader, I personally find that to be true.
And specifically where you state,
"Why can't people read a paragraph worth, pause, then read more?"
You lost me. I understood from your OP that you were arguing to eschew paragraphing. Is that right?
You lost me. I understood from your OP that you were arguing to eschew paragraphing. Is that right?
No, that's incorrect.
Let me explain with an analogy. Let's say I find that putting two commas in a row instead of one makes people have a big reaction like gasping and throwing down the material.
Then I ask the question, "why does it have that big a reaction? I understand people could find it of course incorrect and say 'that's not right', but why the far stronger reaction?"
By asking that I'm not trying to get people to use two commas in a row. I'm discussing something about the reaction to it. That's the topic here. Of COURSE it's clear why there are paragraphs. The topic is why it's so much harder than you'd expect for people to read text by simply deciding to pause when they want as if there were paragraphs - it seems much much harder to read without them than you'd expect.
The topic is why it's so much harder than you'd expect for people to read text by simply deciding to pause when they want as if there were paragraphs -
The above rationale is also why I'm big on punctuation, formatting, and also use a fair mount of italics, underlining, enumeration, and other embellishments in my writing. I'm doing my best to communicate to my reader, and all these things, including paragraphing, facilitate that. Proper (and full!) vocabular doesn't hurt, either.
It sounds like you're still not quite getting the topic. Let's try again.
Let's take a sentence with commas, some words, some more words, some more words again.
Now, let's discuss it without commas some words some more words some more words again.
The question you are answering is, 'do commas make it better?' Yes, of course they do. So you think you answered the issue; you haven't.
Now, imagine your response to the above sentence without commas was that you couldn't finish reading it. You tried. I said, but can't you just read it, and while it's not as easy to read, decide to pause a little when you want - some words (you decide to pause), some more words (you decide to pause), and some more words again.
The question isn't, which is better. The question is, shouldn't it only be somewhat worse - and not have you say it was such a burden you were having a hard time doing it? Why is it so much harder than expected, even though it's expected it is somewhat worse? Why can't you choose to pretend it has commas and instead have a hard time doing that?
Now I assume in that example, it was more as expected. You could read the sentence without commas, and it was worse, but like expected. You could read it even though you found it worse than with commas. No issue.
But paragraphs seem to have a more powerful effect than expected, making it quite hard to read the text. Raising the question I asked, why do they not only 'help', but instead are so important that the effect is much larger than expected where you almost cannot 'add your own paragraph breaks' pausing when you want, which should be doable and only 'somewhat harder', not as much as it turns out?
Remember again, if written communication can be deciphered with more than one meaning, then it communicates nothing. And, that is the problem.
Remember again, if written communication can be deciphered with more than one meaning, then it communicates nothing. And, that is the problem.
How do paragraphs add interpretations to the sample in post 72?That fairy well sums up the greatest deficiency in this experiment.
I find you claiming a lot more communicated by paragraphs than is usually the case.
"Bill was hungry. So he went to the grocery.
He looked for a nice pasta, and found a new tomato sauce. He got it with some parmesan.
It took a while to cook, but was tasty."
You are suggesting that someone simply cannot make sense of that if it's written, "Bill was hungry. So he went to the grocery. He looked for a nice pasta, and found a new tomato sauce. He got it with some parmesan. It took a while to cook, but was tasty." And the reader decides to pause at the same places. That makes little sense. The same meaning other than 'pause a moment here' is there with the same words in the same order, and other punctuation.
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