OCG533, Fall 2001
Answers to Assignment 14
Exercise 2-2. Historical changes in style of scientific writing
Read: The articles in the seven issues of Nature that range from 1873 to 1950 (Appendix A).
Answer these questions:
1. List the main differences between the older and the newer styles of
scientific writing.
Old = relaxed, informal, personal, direct,
literary, actual.
New = stiff, formal, impersonal, indirect,
bland, sanitized.
2. Do you find one of the styles easier to read than the other? If so, why? All things considered, I think the old style is easier to read because it is simpler, more direct, and tells a clearer story.
3. What aspects of scientific research are highlighted by the old style? What aspects are highlighted by the new style? The old style highlights the motivations for the research, who actually did the work, and how it went (successes and failures). The new style highlights the background to the work, its logic, the orderly progression of thought and action in which the work can eventually be expressed, and the final results of the work.
4. Do you find that one of the styles better represents the actual conduct of the research? I think that the old style better represents the actual course of the research, both good and bad.
5. Comment on the timing of the changes from the older style to the newer. In particular, was there any period when the style changed particularly rapidly? If so, what forces of that period might have been responsible for the changes? Style changed gradually up to about 1930, very rapidly between 1930 and 1940, and more slowly after that. Responsible forces may include the increasing number of scientists, the increasing degree of specialization, the entry of government and its big bucks into scientific funding, and the heavier competition for funds.