For any body of text (or in general, any exposition of any kind), the responsibility to explain the value of the article is very much in the author's side.
replyExplaining the value of what you are showing should always go towards the start. Else, why would anyone bother with the rest?
Feel very grateful I was never taught this... Would have missed out on quite a lot of good bodies of text in my life I think! Pushing through any initial friction or ignorance I might have as a reader, having the patience and charity to bear with an author until you get it, was instead what I was always taught.
replyGiving such a blanket "responsibility" to the author at all is just such a bummer! I say let them do whatever they want, there is always more than one way to express oneself. Someone who was never taught to write a clear thesis in the first paragraph for whatever reason doesn't inherently have less to say.
> Feel very grateful I was never taught this...
replyNever heard of Abstract section? First semester on a college or last year on high school.
Unfortunately I don't see this particular view paying off in the age of AI, as many prove they have nothing at all to say but say it anyways. Which isn't to say people shouldn't write if they enjoy writing, but I for one will stay a discerning reader.
replyBuzzard is writing for his blog audience - mostly mathematicians and not the casual visiting HN user.
replyEh? The quote is from Anthropic, not Buzzard.
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