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Comment by zoomzoom | Hacker News Reader

My writing teachers never let us use "I" in high school, because it is considered poor form by most grammar purists.

The reason this rule exists is mostly because using "I" introduces the possibility of subjectivity, and opens up the argumentum ad hominem, both of can sometimes make a sentence weaker.

"You're 17 years old; what could you possibly know about the economic state of affairs in the Andalucia region of Spain? I'm going to go find a real expert, like the ones you've cited!"

Along similar lines is the moratorium on rhetorical questions, which open up the possibility that the reader's answer will be different from the one you want them to have, at which point you've let the reader make up his/her mind before you've had a chance to change it.

I think both bits of advice are useful sometimes (I particularly dislike rhetorical questions, as they usually feel like beating around the bush), or even most of the time, but I teach my students to avoid both (along with using "you" in papers) unless they can make a stronger argument with them (ethos is everything), in which case they should err on the side of making a stronger argument.

What an odd thing for them to say. "I" is one of the most common words in the English language. I very much doubt even grammar purists would recommend against it. What's next? "'The' is considered harmful"?

I think the gp was in reference to writing academically, in which case it is often inappropriate to use 'I' as you should be writing in more absolute terms. I never did like that, though, as it makes your writing sound structurally dismissive of alternative viewpoints.

It also leads to passive voice, which is sometimes appropriate ("Then three cubic centimeters of goat bile were added to the solution"; ideally, anyone should be able to perform this experiment, and the experimenter is out of the picture entirely), but in general, I agree with you.

The mental trick is to append "I think" to the beginning of every sentence and hope that that works.

Also: using the "I" opens up the argumentum ad hominem, which can focus criticism into uncomfortable territory ("Goat bile shouldn't have been added until after the solution was brought to a boil!", versus "You shouldn't have added goat bile until...." One of those is a bit more likely to be taken personally (albeit by someone with thin skin, perhaps as a result of too much exposure to goat bile)).

Yes, should have said that this was in reference to essays on academic topics, not all writing in general. Agree that it makes you sound dismissive, but also teaches you how to write objectively and that is a valuable skill, IMHO.

I was told this, but only in the context of an essay.

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