I think it’s very clearly wrong according to standard English grammar rules, but I also think that Eliezer knows that and is using the comma to simulate a conversational speaking cadence. In this case, it’s a pause for effect that emphasizes a sense of absurdity that this has to be said, in a way that “The utter extermination of humanity would be bad!” doesn’t.
It would be more grammatical to use an ellipsis (“The utter extermination of humanity… would be bad!”) but implies a slightly longer pause, which is probably less accurate to how Eliezer would say this out loud.
This kind of comma usage would be inappropriate for, say, a newspaper article, but I think it’s defensible for an informal persuasive essay.
I think it’s very clearly wrong according to standard English grammar rules, but I also think that Eliezer knows that
How did you reach that conclusion? The large number of comma errors in the essay (along with semi-colon errors and others) suggest to me that he doesn’t know. I don’t think they’re all deliberate stylistic choices. Many of the broken rules are widely followed, uncontroversial, and infrequently broken on purpose.
judging by the number of upvotes on Eliezer’s post (and all the rest of his posts, for that matter), it seems like most people on LessWrong don’t find this writing style difficult or annoying
Yes, on balance, people at LessWrong like his posts. I wouldn’t have finished reading RAZ, HPMOR and IE if his writing didn’t have virtues. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. My suggestion was intended to primarily help with less receptive audiences, not LessWrong members.
I think it’s very clearly wrong according to standard English grammar rules, but I also think that Eliezer knows that and is using the comma to simulate a conversational speaking cadence. In this case, it’s a pause for effect that emphasizes a sense of absurdity that this has to be said, in a way that “The utter extermination of humanity would be bad!” doesn’t.
It would be more grammatical to use an ellipsis (“The utter extermination of humanity… would be bad!”) but implies a slightly longer pause, which is probably less accurate to how Eliezer would say this out loud.
This kind of comma usage would be inappropriate for, say, a newspaper article, but I think it’s defensible for an informal persuasive essay.
Thank you for answering my question.
How did you reach that conclusion? The large number of comma errors in the essay (along with semi-colon errors and others) suggest to me that he doesn’t know. I don’t think they’re all deliberate stylistic choices. Many of the broken rules are widely followed, uncontroversial, and infrequently broken on purpose.
Yes, on balance, people at LessWrong like his posts. I wouldn’t have finished reading RAZ, HPMOR and IE if his writing didn’t have virtues. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. My suggestion was intended to primarily help with less receptive audiences, not LessWrong members.
It was deliberate. It will not be modified. You can stop now.