• TOPICS
    • Design
    • Manufacturing
    • Inspection
    • Heat Treating
    • Lubrication
    • Materials
    • The Gear Industry
    • Gears by Type
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Departments
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
  • NEWSLETTER
    • Subscribe
  • VIDEO
    • Gear Technology TV
      • Ask the Expert Live
      • Revolutions
    • Industry Videos
  • BLOGS
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • NEWS and EVENTS
    • Product News
    • Industry News
    • Events
  • ADVERTISING
    • Brand Awareness
      • Print: Display Advertising
      • Online: Web Banners & Keyword Banners
      • Online: Native Advertising (Sponsored Content)
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
    • Response & Lead Generation
      • Online: Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: Newsletters
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • Online: Buyers Guide
    • Print Advertising
      • Print: Display Advertising
      • Print: MPT Expo Showstoppers
      • Print: Buyers Guide
      • Print: Manufacturing sMart
      • Print: Specifications
      • MPT Expo Show Guide Advertising
    • Online Advertising
      • Online: Web Banners & Keyword Banners
      • Online: Native Advertising (Sponsored Content)
      • Online: Buyers Guide
      • Online: Specifications
    • E-mail Advertising
      • E-mail: E-Newsletters
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: AGMA Industry News
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • E-mail: Specifications
    • Special Promotions
      • Print: MPT Expo Showstoppers
      • Print: Buyers Guide
      • Print: Manufacturing sMart
      • MPT Expo Show Guide Advertising
  • CONTACT US
  • AGMA
    • Membership
    • Events
    • Education
    • Emerging Technology
    • AGMA Media
    • Standards
Subscribe
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Home » Blogs » Gear Talk With Chuck » Sarcasm Font Needed?

Gear Talk With Chuck
Gear Talk With Chuck RSS FeedRSS

The Gear Industry / Standards
Charles schultz
Chuck Schultz is a licensed engineer, Gear Technology Technical Editor, and Chief Engineer for Beyta Gear Service. He has written the "Gear Talk with Chuck" blog for Gear Technology since 2014.

Sarcasm Font Needed?

August 18, 2016
Charles D. Schultz
No Comments
The metaphor post got me thinking of just how much miscommunication occurs because people do not speak or write directly to the point. Aside from this blog and the occasional technical paper, I write lots of fiction for my own amusement. To improve my results I read more guides for writers than any engineer ought to, but over the years it has helped me understand just how tricky it can be to get your message across to the reader. Technical writing is in many ways easier to understand, although it seldom “reads” as smoothly as we would like. No one expects an assembly instruction manual to have a plot, witty phrasing, or colorful descriptions. When it absolutely has to go together and work, we accept frequent re-use of words, sentence fragments, and even drawings in place of words. Our industry standards are written and edited per a style manual that aims for a simple-to-follow, passionless monotone. Standards have to be translatable into other languages without loss of meaning. The style manual assists the editors in making sure that the text has only one meaning, much like a computer program. No one would trust a computer program that gave different results depending upon the viewpoint or mood of the operator. Outside of technical documents, that passionless monotone gets old fast. But when we encounter even well written and edited documents there is a risk of misunderstanding; different readers come away with different understandings. This is particularly true with humorous or sarcastic pieces. Some people just don’t get the joke, and if you have to explain it, it cannot be considered a joke. I read somewhere that legendary wit H.L. Mencken proposed as early as 1924 that a “sarcasm font” be created to remind the denser reader that they were reading a piece that was supposed to be amusing. Ninety some years later the need is still there; a Reverse Italics Movement has begun on the Internet to finally implement Old H.L.’s vision of left-leaning italics: (http://thenextweb.com/dd/2011/12/12/finally-sarcasm-has-a-voice-in-print-with-its-own-font/#gref). Just think of how much heartburn could be relieved if everyone recognized humor when it is intended. We would still be stuck with hurt feelings over the spoken word, but that is a problem for another day.

Recent Comments

Thank you for this - Happy Saint Patrick's...

Post a comment to this article

Report Abusive Comment

Free Gear Technology Subscriptions
Subscribe
Free Gear Technology Subscriptions
Subscribe
FEATURED VIDEO
  • A Look at Helios Gear
March 14, 2019
RECOMMENDED
  • Precision Equals Performance at ZPE GripTec

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_28_Image_0003.jpg
  • State of the Powder Metal Industry

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_30_Image_0001.jpg
  • The Afterglow of Furnaces North America 2022

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_20_Image_0001.jpg
  • Reigniting the Educational Infrastructure

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_20_Image_0001.jpg
  • Profile: Continuing Education and Training with the AGMA

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_26_Image_0001.jpg
  • Reigniting the Educational Infrastructure

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_20_Image_0001.jpg
  • Profile: Continuing Education and Training with the AGMA

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_26_Image_0001.jpg
  • Precision Equals Performance at ZPE GripTec

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_28_Image_0003.jpg
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • AGMA
Powered byAGMA
Copyright © 2023 Gear Technology
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact