Science Writing English Editing

19/03/2020

(who were suddenly forced to teach online due to a global pandemic)

02/11/2017

Limiting myself to reading only the summary of this article on Alzheimer disease (AD) I found a few issues an editor might take issue with.

Claimed in the summary in the article, below, is that these researchers show "(f)or the first time" the location of signs of AD. Also, findings indicate the "earliest signs" of AD; although these are simply opinions, not shared facts.

Fewer adverbs would enable better communication with the reader about what this research says. For example, in the first sentence the adverb, "convincingly", modifies the past tense of the verb "show", which proposes an excessive claim to the reader that is based on opinion. Writing without such adverbs would suggest meaning that readers could argue for or against.

And, in the same summary, the notion of "where" is used to imply location. However, a location is not likely to come of the imaging methods used, which discover correlative structure in measurement data obtained between, in each case, two points. In the default-mode network, these correlations are between data points that are measured at distant points in the brain (e.g., posterior cingulate to the prefrontal cortex, which is from deep in the brain above the ears, to forward areas above the nasal area). That is, what is produced is a correlation between measured (and averaged) activations: Points "a, b, c...x are correlated (or not) only when a is shown in interaction with b, a with c...a with x; ...b with c, ...b with x, and so on. Therefore, no location exists that is not in interaction with another site.

Finally, just a pet peeve of mine: Aloys Alzheimer did not have the disease, and therefore, he didn't possess it. So, although "Alzheimer's" is an accepted term in the science and medicine communities (e.g., in Medline only because the editors could not convince the masses that they were more wrong than right), the correct term is "Alzheimer" as in Alzheimer disease, not Alzheimer's disease. (It is true that Emil Kraepelin referred to his subordinate colleague's report on tissue examination as "Alzheimer's case", and may have even said it was Alzheimer's disease, that doesn't imply it was correct grammatical form).

In reporting on research, write to teach the facts that lie in the midst of opinions...in my opinion.

For the first time, researchers have convincingly shown where in the brain the earliest signs of Alzheimer's occur. The discovery could potentially become significant to future Alzheimer's research while contributing to improved diagnostics.

22/10/2017

Here, Baer writes, "It pleases the ear to have adjectives placed like concentric circles, radiating out from the center of the noun."

Why it’s a “huge fuzzy blanket” and not a “fuzzy huge blanket.”

16/08/2017

Editing versus teaching writing

Knowing they’ll have to workshop their papers with peers pushes students to write with greater care.

07/08/2017

CONFLATE: Don't use it if you mean "equate" or "confuse".

05/08/2017

Also, in your writing writing, understand the relative influences of your object versus your subjectivity.

Thoughts and beliefs held by groups of people aren’t always all that great, and they can sometimes skew the truth into unjust prejudices.

05/08/2017

"No-nothingism" versus "know-nothingism": A nihilistic sense.

"Copy editing for The New Yorker is like playing shortstop for a Major League Baseball team -- every little movement gets picked over by the critics," says Mary Norris, who has played the position for more than thirty years. In that time, she's gotten a reputation for sternness and for being a "comm...

25/06/2017

Nobel Laureates speak out against the role of impact factors in research.

07/06/2017

More than once I have built my writing space, creating not just the writing table, but a cocoon around it, within which I felt inspired yet sheltered.

I tried basements, cafés, even a 1981 VW camper van. But things only fell into place once I pulled out my ironing board and got back to basics.

21/05/2017

Care for your Word

How about, just bullets, just diseases, just starvation? The whole "sticks and stones" canard is really dangerous. When a stone gives you a bruise, it's entirely possible you will completely heal. But when a torrent of words undermine your view of what's possible, you might never recover. Words matt...

23/03/2017

Taking that pause ...

Typing two spaces after a period is totally, completely, utterly, and inarguably wrong.