Thread by @IntuitMachine

I just learned a surprising thing that was not obvious to me. Good writing is like good visualization. Good writing pays attention to good geometry.

It's obvious to a good programmer how to structure their code for easier comprehension. They've developed style guides and in the industrial application of programming, collective consistency is critically important. Scalable software engineering requires efficient communication.

But we take this for granted in natural language. We are so accustomed to the interpretation of natural language that we forget to sculpt our words in a manner that is easily understood.

Before style guides came around for computer programming, we learned our own ways of structuring our code. This is perhaps how most people learn how to write well. They just learn from experimentation.

Two decades ago, programming adapted the ideas of the architect Christopher Alexander to describe even more complex patterns that were found to recur in the construction of code.

Just as Alexander had observed that there were good practices in designing architecture, there were also good practices in constructing code. So, therefore, there should be good design patterns for writing.

I am not from the liberal arts, so I'm unfamiliar if there are design patterns for writing. Has anyone encountered them? Please respond if you have seen them.