内容简介
A short and entertaining book on the modern art of writing well by New York Times bestselling author Steven PinkerWhy is so much writing so bad, and how can we make it better? Is the English language being corrupted by texting and social media? Do the kids today even care about good writing? Why should any of us care?
In
The Sense of Style, the bestselling linguist and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker answers these questions and more. Rethinking the usage guide for the twenty-first century, Pinker doesn’t carp about the decline of language or recycle pet peeves from the rulebooks of a century ago. Instead, he applies insights from the sciences of language and mind to the challenge of crafting clear, coherent, and stylish prose.
In this short, cheerful, and eminently practical book, Pinker shows how writing depends on imagination, empathy, coherence, grammatical knowhow, and an ability to savor and reverse engineer the good prose of others. He replaces dogma about usage with reason and evidence, allowing writers and editors to apply the guidelines judiciously, rather than robotically, being mindful of what they are designed to accomplish.
Filled with examples of great and gruesome prose, Pinker shows us how the art of writing can be a form of pleasurable mastery and a fascinating intellectual topic in its own right.
作者简介
Steven Pinker is the Harvard College Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. A two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and the winner of many awards for his research, teaching, and books, he has been named one of
Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World Today and
Foreign Policy's 100 Global Thinkers.
精彩书评
[The Sense of Style] is more contemporary and comprehensive than “The Elements of Style,” illustrated with comic strips and cartoons and lots of examples of comically bad writing. [Pinker’s] voice is calm, reasonable, benign, and you can easily see why he’s one of Harvard’s most popular lecturers.”
——The New York Times
“Pinker's linguistical learning…is considerable. His knowledge of grammar is extensive and runs deep. He also takes a scarcely hidden delight in exploding tradition. He describes his own temperament as "both logical and rebellious." Few things give him more pleasure than popping the buttons off what he takes to be stuffed shirts.”
——The Wall Street Journal
“[W]hile The Sense of Style is very much a practical guide to clear and compelling writing, it’s also far more…. In the end, Pinker’s formula for good writing is pretty basic: write clearly, try to follow the rules most of the time——but only the when they make sense. It’s neither rocket science nor brain surgery. But the wit and insight and clarity he brings to that simple formula is what makes this book such a gem.”
——Time.com
“Erudite and witty… With its wealth of helpful information and its accessible approach, The Sense of Style is a worthy addition to even the most overburdened shelf of style manuals.”
——Shelf Awareness
“Forget Strunk and White’s rules——cognitive science is a surer basis for clear and cogent writing, according to this iconoclastic guide from bestselling Harvard psycholinguist Pinker... Every writer can profit from——and every writer can enjoy——Pinker’s analysis of the ways in which skillfully chosen words engage the mind.”
——Publishers Weekly (starred)
“Yet another how-to book on writing? Indeed, but this is one of the best to come along in many years, a model of intelligent signposting and syntactical comportment…Pinker's vade mecum is a worthy addition to any writer’s library.”
——Kirkus Reviews
“In this witty and practical book on the art of writing, Pinker applies insights from the sciences of language and mind to the crafting of clear, elegant prose: #requiredreading.”
——Publishers Weekly, PW pick Fall 2014 Announcements
“Who better than a best-selling linguist and cognitive scientist to craft a style guide showing us how to use language more effectively?”
——Library Journal
“[A] dense, fascinating analysis of the many ways communication can be stymied by word choice, placement, stress, and the like. [Pinker’s] explanations run rich and deep, complemented by lists, cartoons, charts on diagramming sentences, and more.”
——Booklist
“This book is a graceful and clear smackdown to the notion that English is going to the proverbial dogs. Pinker has written the Strunk & White for a new century while continuing to discourage baseless notions such as that the old slogan should have been ‘Winston tastes good AS a cigarette should.’”
——John McWhorter, author of Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue and The Power of Babel
“Great stuff! Only Steven Pinker could have written this marvelous book, and thank heaven he has. ‘Good writing can flip the way the world is perceived,’ he writes, and The Sense of Style will flip the way you think about good writing. Pinker’s curiosity and delight illuminate every page, and when he says style can make the world a better place, we believe him.”
——Patricia T. O’Conner, author of Woe Is I and, with Stewart Kellerman, Origins of the Specious
"A supremely important book...a masterly achievement."
——The New York Times Book Review
"Masterly."
——The Wall Street Journal
"One of the most important books I've read--not just this year, but ever."
——Bill Gates
"Packed with information...Clear, witty, attractively written."
——The New York Review of Books
"A display of fiercely intricate intelligence."
——The Times (London)
"Engaging and provocative . . . It's good to have a mind as lively and limpid as his bringing the ideas of cognitive science to the public."
——Douglas Hofstadter, Los Angeles Times
"Curious, inventive, fearless, naughty."
——The New York Times
"Sweeping, erudite, sharply argued, and fun to read . . . also highly persuasive."
——Time
"Ought to be read by anybody who . . . thinks they already know where they stand on the science wars. . . . It could change their minds."
——The Economist
"Pinker is a star, and the world of science is lucky to have him."
——Richard Dawkins
前言/序言
《非凡匠心:传统工艺的复兴与创新》 内容简介 本书深入探索了在全球化和技术飞速发展的浪潮中,那些坚守传统工艺的匠人们所面临的挑战、他们所展现出的非凡智慧,以及他们如何将古老技艺融入现代生活,从而焕发出新的生命力。这不是一本简单的工艺品图录,而是一部关于传承、创新与匠人精神的深度访谈录和文化考察报告。 第一部分:守望者——传统技艺的坚守与困境 第一章:时间的回响:手工艺的定义与价值 本章首先界定了“手工艺”在当代语境下的复杂含义。它不仅关乎制作的物理过程,更蕴含着特定地域的历史记忆、文化符号和非物质的知识体系。我们追溯了从工业革命初期对手工艺的冲击,到现代社会对“慢生活”和“真实性”的渴望这一历史轨迹。特别分析了在批量生产主导的市场中,手工艺品因其稀缺性和独特性而重新获得关注的内在驱动力。本章通过对几个经典案例的分析,探讨了手工艺品在功能性之外所承载的情感价值和收藏价值。 第二章:指尖上的传承:师徒制的变迁 传统手工艺的知识传递高度依赖师徒关系,这种“言传身教”的模式正面临严峻的考验。本章细致描绘了当代学徒制在现代教育体系和市场竞争压力下的重塑。我们走访了多位仍在坚持传统方式收徒的老师傅,记录了他们对“真传”的坚守,以及他们对年轻一代学习态度的复杂情感——既有希望,亦有担忧。同时,我们也考察了那些将技艺纳入现代职业教育体系的创新尝试,对比了两者在效率与深度上的差异。一个核心议题是:如何在保证技艺精髓不失真的前提下,加速知识的有效传递。 第三章:材料的哲学:在地性与可持续性 每一门传统工艺都与特定的自然材料紧密相连,对这些材料的理解和尊重构成了技艺的根基。本章聚焦于全球范围内对手工材料的保护与可持续性开发。从日本的天然染料“蓝型”到欧洲的传统木材处理技术,我们考察了匠人们如何与自然环境进行一场长期的、相互尊重的对话。面对资源枯竭和环境污染的挑战,许多工坊开始转向“零废弃”的制作理念,重新利用边角料,甚至发明了新的材料替代方案,展现了传统知识在应对现代环境问题时的强大适应力。 第二章:跨越边界——当代语境下的创新与融合 第四章:设计驱动的重生:工艺与现代审美的交汇 当代手工艺的复兴并非简单的怀旧,而是一场深刻的设计革命。本章探讨了设计师如何充当传统工艺与现代市场之间的桥梁。通过与国际知名设计工作室的合作案例,展示了如何将传统纹样、材料处理方式,以符合当代极简主义或功能主义的美学标准进行重构。例如,将复杂的传统编织技术应用于极简家具的结构支撑,或使用传统陶瓷烧制技术来制作适应现代厨房环境的餐具。关键在于如何在保留“手工感”的温度的同时,实现现代工业设计所要求的精准度和功能性。 第五章:数字化的悖论:技术辅助下的精细化生产 技术工具的介入是现代手工艺不可回避的话题。本章深入分析了数字化工具(如三维扫描、激光切割、参数化设计软件)在手工艺流程中的应用与争议。这些工具如何帮助匠人解决重复性高、对体力要求极高的环节,从而解放他们的时间和精力去专注于最需要创造力的部分?我们平衡地呈现了支持者(认为技术是工具,解放人力的解放者)和反对者(认为过度依赖技术会削弱对手工技艺的本体性理解)的观点,并呈现了一些成功的融合范例,这些范例展示了如何利用数字技术优化定制化流程,而不是取代手工劳动本身。 第六章:全球市场:如何定价“时间”与“灵魂” 手工艺品的高昂价格常常成为其市场推广的障碍。本章着重分析了手工艺品的价值评估体系。它超越了材料成本和工时计算,融入了知识产权、文化稀缺性和品牌叙事。本章提供了针对全球精品市场和可持续消费市场的定价策略分析,并探讨了“公平贸易”原则在手工艺品供应链中的实践意义。此外,还介绍了新兴的“数字认证”技术(如区块链)如何为昂贵的手工制品提供可追溯的真实性证明,增强消费者信心。 第三章:未来之形——社群、教育与文化影响 第七章:手工艺的社群力量:合作网络与地方经济振兴 本章转向手工艺如何成为构建社区认同感和推动地方经济复苏的有效载体。我们考察了多个成功的手工艺村或工坊集群,这些集群通过共享资源、联合营销和互助学习,形成了强大的生态系统。特别关注了女性工匠在这些社群中扮演的核心角色,以及她们如何通过手工艺获得经济独立和社会地位提升。这些合作网络不仅保护了技艺,更重塑了人与人、人与土地之间的关系。 第八章:教育的革新:从实践中学习的未来 传统的“学徒制”在现代教育体系中难以立足,但“动手能力”和“对材料的感知力”却是任何专业教育都不可或缺的。本章探讨了新型教育模式的探索,包括跨学科工作坊、沉浸式体验项目以及将艺术史与材料科学相结合的课程设计。目标是培养一种新的“技术素养”,让下一代无论从事何种职业,都能理解并尊重物质世界中的创造过程。 第九章:文化的长久生命力 最终,本书总结了手工艺对人类文化整体的贡献。手工艺品是凝固的历史,是抵抗遗忘的物证。它们提醒着我们,真正的创新往往植根于对过往的深刻理解。通过对全球范围内不同文化背景下手工艺复兴运动的观察,我们发现,无论技术如何进步,人类对“亲手创造的、有温度的物品”的需求永远不会消失。这本书旨在激励读者重新审视身边的日常器物,珍视每一份付诸其中的心血与智慧。