The Armed Forces Officer Chapter Twenty: Writing and Speaking (1950)

He was a radio and communications engineer from the 1950s to 80s. By the time he retired, he'd worked as a program manager with a staff of hundreds. His advice to me, a budding IT enthusiast and likely heading for a career in such, was simple:

"Learn to read and write well. You can't be a good engineer if you can't write well."

It was invaluable advice.

Interesting to compare this with a 2017 equivalent [0] which contains a lot more actionable guidance (written in PowerPoint).

A lot of this is relevant in commercial writing, e.g. the use of active voice - which tends to make it clear who has responsibility for things. Important in contracts, etc.

[0] https://www.jmu.edu/uwc/tutor-resources/MSL202L15%20Writing%...

I picked up that book over a decade ago, and it had a big effect on the way I write. There’s a temptation to use big words to sound more professional. Part of it is understanding your audience. But even when speaking to a crowd that can grasp the meaning of fancier language, you risk clouding your message.

Feynman understood this. A big part of his brilliance was taking hard ideas and making them simple.

My first real introduction to the idea of writing with simple, clear sentences came from Cliff Stoll. People thought the Cuckoo’s Egg was ghostwritten. In Silicon Snake Oil he shared thoughts on what made his writing so enjoyable. What I remember most is simplicity. And short sentences.

1: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1862302.Art_of_Plain_Tal...

"There is a common saying in the services, and elsewhere, that greater privileges grow out of larger responsibilities, and that the latter justifies the former. This is part truth and part fable."

Actually, this book looks pretty good generally.

"If you like people, if you seek contact with them rather than hiding yourself in a corner, if you study your fellow men sympathetically, if you try consistently to contribute something to their success and happiness, if you are reasonably generous with your thoughts and your time, if you have a partial reserve with everyone but a seeming reserve with no one, if you work to be interesting rather than spend to be a good fellow, you will get along with your superiors, your subordinates, your orderly, your roommate and the human race."

[0] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/25482/25482-h/25482-h.htm#CH...