內容簡介
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.
作者簡介
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.
精彩書評
[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:傳統工藝的復興與創新》 內容簡介 本書深入探索瞭在全球化和技術飛速發展的浪潮中,那些堅守傳統工藝的匠人們所麵臨的挑戰、他們所展現齣的非凡智慧,以及他們如何將古老技藝融入現代生活,從而煥發齣新的生命力。這不是一本簡單的工藝品圖錄,而是一部關於傳承、創新與匠人精神的深度訪談錄和文化考察報告。 第一部分:守望者——傳統技藝的堅守與睏境 第一章:時間的迴響:手工藝的定義與價值 本章首先界定瞭“手工藝”在當代語境下的復雜含義。它不僅關乎製作的物理過程,更蘊含著特定地域的曆史記憶、文化符號和非物質的知識體係。我們追溯瞭從工業革命初期對手工藝的衝擊,到現代社會對“慢生活”和“真實性”的渴望這一曆史軌跡。特彆分析瞭在批量生産主導的市場中,手工藝品因其稀缺性和獨特性而重新獲得關注的內在驅動力。本章通過對幾個經典案例的分析,探討瞭手工藝品在功能性之外所承載的情感價值和收藏價值。 第二章:指尖上的傳承:師徒製的變遷 傳統手工藝的知識傳遞高度依賴師徒關係,這種“言傳身教”的模式正麵臨嚴峻的考驗。本章細緻描繪瞭當代學徒製在現代教育體係和市場競爭壓力下的重塑。我們走訪瞭多位仍在堅持傳統方式收徒的老師傅,記錄瞭他們對“真傳”的堅守,以及他們對年輕一代學習態度的復雜情感——既有希望,亦有擔憂。同時,我們也考察瞭那些將技藝納入現代職業教育體係的創新嘗試,對比瞭兩者在效率與深度上的差異。一個核心議題是:如何在保證技藝精髓不失真的前提下,加速知識的有效傳遞。 第三章:材料的哲學:在地性與可持續性 每一門傳統工藝都與特定的自然材料緊密相連,對這些材料的理解和尊重構成瞭技藝的根基。本章聚焦於全球範圍內對手工材料的保護與可持續性開發。從日本的天然染料“藍型”到歐洲的傳統木材處理技術,我們考察瞭匠人們如何與自然環境進行一場長期的、相互尊重的對話。麵對資源枯竭和環境汙染的挑戰,許多工坊開始轉嚮“零廢棄”的製作理念,重新利用邊角料,甚至發明瞭新的材料替代方案,展現瞭傳統知識在應對現代環境問題時的強大適應力。 第二章:跨越邊界——當代語境下的創新與融閤 第四章:設計驅動的重生:工藝與現代審美的交匯 當代手工藝的復興並非簡單的懷舊,而是一場深刻的設計革命。本章探討瞭設計師如何充當傳統工藝與現代市場之間的橋梁。通過與國際知名設計工作室的閤作案例,展示瞭如何將傳統紋樣、材料處理方式,以符閤當代極簡主義或功能主義的美學標準進行重構。例如,將復雜的傳統編織技術應用於極簡傢具的結構支撐,或使用傳統陶瓷燒製技術來製作適應現代廚房環境的餐具。關鍵在於如何在保留“手工感”的溫度的同時,實現現代工業設計所要求的精準度和功能性。 第五章:數字化的悖論:技術輔助下的精細化生産 技術工具的介入是現代手工藝不可迴避的話題。本章深入分析瞭數字化工具(如三維掃描、激光切割、參數化設計軟件)在手工藝流程中的應用與爭議。這些工具如何幫助匠人解決重復性高、對體力要求極高的環節,從而解放他們的時間和精力去專注於最需要創造力的部分?我們平衡地呈現瞭支持者(認為技術是工具,解放人力的解放者)和反對者(認為過度依賴技術會削弱對手工技藝的本體性理解)的觀點,並呈現瞭一些成功的融閤範例,這些範例展示瞭如何利用數字技術優化定製化流程,而不是取代手工勞動本身。 第六章:全球市場:如何定價“時間”與“靈魂” 手工藝品的高昂價格常常成為其市場推廣的障礙。本章著重分析瞭手工藝品的價值評估體係。它超越瞭材料成本和工時計算,融入瞭知識産權、文化稀缺性和品牌敘事。本章提供瞭針對全球精品市場和可持續消費市場的定價策略分析,並探討瞭“公平貿易”原則在手工藝品供應鏈中的實踐意義。此外,還介紹瞭新興的“數字認證”技術(如區塊鏈)如何為昂貴的手工製品提供可追溯的真實性證明,增強消費者信心。 第三章:未來之形——社群、教育與文化影響 第七章:手工藝的社群力量:閤作網絡與地方經濟振興 本章轉嚮手工藝如何成為構建社區認同感和推動地方經濟復蘇的有效載體。我們考察瞭多個成功的手工藝村或工坊集群,這些集群通過共享資源、聯閤營銷和互助學習,形成瞭強大的生態係統。特彆關注瞭女性工匠在這些社群中扮演的核心角色,以及她們如何通過手工藝獲得經濟獨立和社會地位提升。這些閤作網絡不僅保護瞭技藝,更重塑瞭人與人、人與土地之間的關係。 第八章:教育的革新:從實踐中學習的未來 傳統的“學徒製”在現代教育體係中難以立足,但“動手能力”和“對材料的感知力”卻是任何專業教育都不可或缺的。本章探討瞭新型教育模式的探索,包括跨學科工作坊、沉浸式體驗項目以及將藝術史與材料科學相結閤的課程設計。目標是培養一種新的“技術素養”,讓下一代無論從事何種職業,都能理解並尊重物質世界中的創造過程。 第九章:文化的長久生命力 最終,本書總結瞭手工藝對人類文化整體的貢獻。手工藝品是凝固的曆史,是抵抗遺忘的物證。它們提醒著我們,真正的創新往往植根於對過往的深刻理解。通過對全球範圍內不同文化背景下手工藝復興運動的觀察,我們發現,無論技術如何進步,人類對“親手創造的、有溫度的物品”的需求永遠不會消失。這本書旨在激勵讀者重新審視身邊的日常器物,珍視每一份付諸其中的心血與智慧。