EG Boring Still Demises: A Repost with Variations

The Demise of EG Boring

James Brody · 02/02/02 at 7:07 PM ET
One of my clients, an indignant mother, remarked once that "Only old white guys lecture about the evils of abortion." Race aside, I think she has a point, one endorsed by Dennis Krebs in a talk a few years ago. Guys advertise by talking and the older we get, sometimes the more we say about theories and morals. Psychology, populated with old guys, has a longish history of logorrhea...possibly an evolutionary thing.

Niches, however, change and we now share two audiences. The typical internet cruiser runs with older equipment at slower speed and moves on quickly. He or she may be looking for homework help or a quick introduction to a topic or some examples for a paper. In contrast, several of us analyze things that don't really exist and tell stories that will never be verified. I mediate (an exploratory system!) the competing demands between audience and participant just as required in talk radio or tap rooms.

My usual guidelines are:
- Reasonable download time for the entire site (I have deleted about 450 of my own essays for this reason alone and will soon stage a meteor crash.)
- Short, less than 350 words.
- Active voice.
- Oriented towards current behavior genetics, evolutionary psychology, and their combination.
- Resoundingly clever statements are welcome forever...the Brits are masters with this kind of essay and I keep a few of them as examples for the kids and for the pros.
- Applicable in the view of readers who contact me by email directly.
- News relevant.
- Will attract traffic from search engines, as in the case of an essay by a prominent individual.
- Has a current trail of "new" stickers.
- Every spring, it seems, the narcissists bloom, fed by conference announcements. I'm one of them and I like to share the goodies.
- There are sometimes extinction events where I clear the entire board, throw the dice one more time, and see what emerges.

General hint: read and live by two books (1) Steve King "On Writing" and (2) Strunk and White. Consider posting in shorter form and solicit further comment on the ideas that concern you most. Check back often so that your thread remains current and you are sure to copy whatever you find valuable. Consider investing $70 in your own web site and develop your material in a way that is suited to your particular quests and talents. (Generally people find this the most profitable and satisfying step. It can also be very rough when no one comes to visit!)

James Brody
Editor and Host

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