Robert Horn/ Information Mapping

In the 5364 Moo, someone mentioned Robert Horn & information mapping. I think it was Tom. Anyhow, I googled him and am now looking into the topic. Peeking into it.

Just wanted to document it so I don't lose track.

Also locate George A Miller's "The magic seven, plus or minus two (7±2) rule of thumb."

From a pdf here, there's main points about the non-trademarked Structured Writing:

Building blocks and principles
Structured Writing is an integrated set of novel techniques, approaches, and principles:
• The information block as unit of information.
• The precise specification of different kinds of information blocks for specific purposes.
• A content analysis approach of information types that clusters different information blocks.
• An intermediate unit of structured writing, the information map, for easy and natural topic
clustering.
• A comprehensive and systematic set of criteria for labeling blocks and maps.
• A specification of where graphics should be used and where text would be better.
• Easy-to-scan formats and templates.
• The incorporation of research results from many fields and the creation of an ongoing research
program to keep the methodology current

How High...
Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Aristotle: Rhetoric: Book 2: Ch 10-

Ch 10-11

Difference between envy and emulation is that envy is being upset that someone has something you do not; emulation is being upset that you do not have something that someone else does. Envy is doing things to prevent your neighbor from living well; emulation is doing things so that you live well.

Ch 16

There is indeed one difference between the type of the newly-enriched and those who have long been rich: the newly-enriched have all the bad qualities mentioned in an exaggerated and worse form -- to be newly-enriched means, so to speak, no education in riches.

It was interesting to learn that hatred of the nouveau riche has been around for millenia.

Ch 21: Rocking the Maxim
1395b

The maxim, as has been already said, a general statement and people love to hear stated in general terms what they already believe in some particular connexion: e.g. if a man happens to have bad neighbours or bad children, he will agree with any one who tells him, "Nothing is more annoying than having neighbours," or, "Nothing is more foolish than to be the parent of children." The orator has therefore to guess the subjects on which his hearers really hold views already, and what those views are, and then must express, as general truths, these same views on these same subjects. This is one advantage of using maxims. There is another which is more important -- it invests a speech with moral character. There is moral character in every speech in which the moral purpose is conspicuous: and maxims always produce this effect, because the utterance of them amounts to a general declaration of moral principles: so that, if the maxims are sound, they display the speaker as a man of sound moral character.

Read through chapter 23
Reread 23. It's dense.

Article: Mouratidis "Athlos"

Mouratidis, Yannis. The "Athlos" in Ancient Greece and Its Educational Significance.

I have pages 475-480. I think they were printed from a Google book, but I am not sure. Sloppy reference tracking, I know.

First, this is a good piece to give general overview/ information on the word athlos. Second, it is written in an academic tone that is easy to read, but it does not seem to have any footnotes.

476

In other words, the wider meaning of the word "athlos", [sic] covered many forms of human activity, which contributed to the advancement of civilization. The word "athlos" as time went by was more closely connected to major achievements in the field of sports contents, which achievements were, however, always attained under conditions of fair play.

...those who had neglected their physical traning were considered to be uneducated, the educated being only those who could combine it wiht intellectual pursuits. Such comibnation was truly the basic and primary achievement (or athlos) from which stemmed all other accomplishments in the field of art, science and other activities, which contribute to social progress and give a special meaning to human life.

477

The word athlos also meant good manners, nobility of character and honesty. Athlos did not mean to misue one's strength or to achieve victory by unfair means. Athlos mean as well (some characters in Greek here (modesty), honesty, respect and nobility of spirit.

Article: Lejkowit "Poet as Athlete"

Lejkowit, Mary. Journal of Sport History, Vol. 11, No 2 (Summer 1984), 18-24.

Initially I thought this might be relevant as a crossover discussion about poets and athletes in ancient Greece. It is not. Instead, it focuses largely on Pindar's odes and the comparison Pindar makes in his odes between his writing or writing of poetry and athletics.

Possible use as an example or crossover in aesthtetics or imagery, but much more literary focus than I think I need.

There are a number of references to specific odes and those could be useful in tracking down specific writings.

Geertz: Anti Anti Relativism

Geertz, Clifford. 1984

Pretty easy to read academic article. The title says it all: the piece explores in depth the attacks on relativism which are based upon a reversion to placing a universal form of knowledge at the top of a hierarchy. Just below that is morality. Geertz asserts that the two prime levers for doing this are "Human Mind" and "Human Nature."

The piece is an excellent example of professional writing which uses first person voice in places and engages in playful, sarcastic, and engaging tones. Similarly, he largely gives voice to the Anti Relativists before he pulls them apart. Very little discussion of Relativism takes place.

Key sections are second paragraph of 264: people spending too much time on what they do NOT believe; to question a universal truth often leads to being accused of not believing in anything.

page 270 Geertz covers the Anti R genre of child to adult as relativist to anti-relativist.

272 "There is the same tendency to see diversity as surface and universality as depth. And there is the same desire to represent one's interpretations not as constructions brought to their objects--societies, cultures, languages--in an effort, somehow, somehwat to comprehend them, but as quiddities of such objects forced upon our thought."


275 "Looking into dragons, not domesticating or abominating them, nor drowning them in vats of theory, is what anthropology has been all about."

Could you adjust that and change dragons to persuasion and anthropology to rhetoric?

276 The final words:

The objection to anti-relativism is not that it rejects an it-s'all-how-you-look-at-it approach to knowledge or a when-in-Rome approach to morality, but that it imagines that they can only be defeated by placing morality beyond culture and knowledge beyond both. This, speaking of things which must needs be so, is no longer possible. If we wanted home truths, we should have stayed at home.

Aristotle: Rhetoric: Book 2: notes

Chapter 1
1378 a

There are three things which inspire confidence in the orator's own character -- the three, namely, that induce us to believe a thing apart from any proof of it: good sense, good moral character, and goodwill. False statements and bad advice are due to one or more of the following three causes. Men either form a false opinion through want of good sense; or they form a true opinion, but because of their moral badness do not say what they really think; or finally, they are both sensible and upright, but not well disposed to their hearers, and may fail in consequence to recommend what they know to be the best course.

Chapter 3

The reason is that it is shameless to deny what is obvious, and those who are shameless towards us slight us and show contempt for us: anyhow, we do not feel shame before those of whom we are thoroughly contemptuous.

At the end of Ch. 3

It is now plain that when you wish to calm others you must draw upon these lines of argument; you must put your hearers into the corresponding frame of mind, and represent those with whom they are angry as formidable, or as worthy of reverence, or as benefactors, or as involuntary agents, or as much distressed at what they have done.

Chapter 4

We may describe friendly feeling towards any one as wishing for him what you believe to be good things, not for your own sake but for his, [1381a] and being inclined, so far as you can, to bring these things about. A friend is one who feels thus and excites these feelings in return: those who think they feel thus towards each other think themselves friends. This being assumed, it follows that your friend is the sort of man who shares your pleasure in what is good and your pain in what is unpleasant, for your sake and for no other reason.

Things that cause friendship are: doing kindnesses; doing them unasked; and not proclaiming the fact when they are done, which shows that they were done for our own sake and not for some other reason.

Chapter 5

Fear may be defined as a pain or disturbance due to a mental picture of some destructive or painful evil in the future.

... we can also see what Confidence is, about what things we feel it, and under what conditions. It is the opposite of fear, and what causes it is the opposite of what causes fear; it is, therefore, the expectation associated with a mental picture of the nearness of what keeps us safe and the absence or remoteness of what is terrible: it may be due either to the near presence of what inspires confidence or to the absence of what causes alarm. We feel it if we can take steps -- many, or important, or both -- to cure or prevent trouble; if we have neither wronged others nor been wronged by them; if we have either no rivals at all or no strong ones; if our rivals who are strong are our friends or have treated us well or been treated well by us; or if those whose interest is the same as ours are the more numerous party, or the stronger, or both.

Chapter 7
1385b

In considering this subject we must look at all the "categories": an act may be an act of kindness because (1) it is a particular thing, (2) it has a particular magnitude or (3) quality, or (4) is done at a particular time or (5) place. As evidence of the want of kindness, we may point out that a smaller service had been refused to the man in need; or that the same service, or an equal or greater one, has been given to his enemies; these facts show that the service in question was not done for the sake of the person helped. Or we may point out that the thing desired was worthless and that the helper knew it: no one will admit that he is in need of what is worthless.

Kairos discusses

Kairos is discussed here. It's a momentary, at least, obsession along with hoplites.