Writing Without Bullshit: Boost Your Career by Saying What You Mean

Author:Josh Bernoff
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-09-13T07:00:00+00:00

16

Find Flow

In 1961, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. published the short story “Harrison Bergeron.” It’s a masterpiece of ironist thinking in 2,200 words. It begins like this: “The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal.”

The reason people are equal in 2081 is that the government has taken the necessary steps to make them equal. If you have any outstanding qualities, then Diana Moon Glampers, the government’s Handicapper General, will ensure that you cannot use them.

If you are graceful, you must wear weights on your ankles. If you are beautiful, you must wear a mask. And if you are more intelligent . . . well, here’s how Vonnegut explains it through the experience of two characters, George and his wife, Hazel:

George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.