David Foster Wallace on "Prior To"
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So funny, a college prof told me the same thing about use vs. utilize. I agree, however think there is merit in "utilize" when it makes the cadence or musicality of a sentence flow better. (Not a common circumstance though)
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This is from Lipsky's tapes. I didn't know he video recorded any of it. Does anyone know if there are other Lipsky videos?
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he is the best current writer around why oh why did you kill yourself ? we need someone like you RIGHT NOW,darnit
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@nickfarruggia whoa.....dude i get that some people don't like his writting but thats no reason to be rude.
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@nickfarruggia You know what, although your comment is highly offensive, I feel as though calling DFW a "redundant fuck" is pretty damn accurate.
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Hahah good to know.
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@whateveritsnoyes Cool. And I was just quoting yr snottiness, of course. Fun fact: In "Tense Present", you learn the difference between snottiness and SNOOTiness. Snottiness = bad, SNOOTiness = good.
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Wow..
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proper DFW fan*
At this time I'm enjoying this video, prior to that I was not.
Shawnruss 3 months ago 4
@whateveritsnoyes
He's talking about the principle that you should avoid relatively complicated words or phrases that mean the same thing as simpler ones. When you follow this principle, your writing is clearer and easier to follow. Using phrases like "prior to" is not a sign of being a wordsmith; it's a sign that you're trying to sound like a wordsmith and making your writing less effective as a result.
An ultra-intelligent wordsmith like DFW knows how to make his writing effective.
coreyngilbert 10 months ago 2