jeudi 17 septembre 2009

The List of N Things [en]

Why readers like articles featuring lists so common in magazine and newspapers (and the web).
The List of N Things:
Because the main points are unconnected, the list of n things is random access. There's no thread of reasoning you have to follow. You could read the list in any order. And because the points are independent of one another, they work like watertight compartments in an unsinkable ship. If you get bored with, or can't understand, or don't agree with one point, you don't have to give up on the article. You can just abandon that one and skip to the next. A list of n things is parallel and therefore fault tolerant.