Re: [Phys-l] On pleasure of learning

[John Denker <jsd@av8n.com>]

On 01/21/2007 04:07 PM, Ludwik Kowalski wrote:
> ... frustration generated in reading a "user's manual" for
> a specific application. That manual was not written for a novice user 
> of a fancy instument.

I recommend:
  Robert M. Pirsig, _Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_Maintenance
    http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Motorcycle-Maintenance-Inquiry/dp/0553277472

It discusses (among many other things) the idiocy of writing
manuals that are not usable by the user.

You'd never guess it from the title, but the book is an essay
about quality and about the place of science and technology
in society.

The book was a best-seller and has become a "classic" in the
Mark-Twain sense:  more people have heard of it than have
actually read it.

It should be required reading for anyone who does any sort
of technical writing.