Spurious Coin: A History of Science, Management, and Technical Writing (Suny Series, Studies in Scientific and Technical Communication)
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Spurious Coin: A History of Science, Management, and Technical Writing (Suny Series, Studies in Scientific and Technical Communication)
Offers a narrative history of technical writing as a cultural practice and the system of scientific knowledge it controls.
Spurious Coin constructs a cultural history of technical writing in the United States and the system of scientific knowledge and power it controls. Embedded in this history are tensions between scientific and liberal arts knowledge-making that render technical writing both the genuine and counterfeit coin of scientific knowledge within our culture. When scientific knowledge is made by scientists and engineers, it can circulate as genuine currency in an economy where communication makes knowledge. When scientific knowledge is made by liberal-arts trained technical writers, however, it circulates as spurious currency and threatens the purity of the knowledge economy. Because the stability of the scientific knowledge economy is at stake, scientists and technical writers often find themselves at odds over the value of scientific knowledge minted by non-scientists.
Longo constructs this cultural history around a framework of five intellectual trends: the use of clear, correct English; maximum efficiency of production and operation; the need to contribute to a general fund of scientific knowledge for the betterment of the human condition; the tension between the role of science and art within a culture; and a redemptive urge to purify language and standardize practice. She also explores the role of mechanical engineers in designing management systems which rely on technical writing to control operations and profits.
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History of Technical Comunication:
Longo has written an insightful book on using technical writing to present scientific and engineering information. She investigates the advance of technical writing from the 19th century to present in her book, using an analogy between science, metalurgy, and technical writing. She promotes the idea that scientific knowledge is the "currency that keeps society's economy circulating," suggesting that technical writing is the coinage in our society that conveys science's message. Longo presents opposing... more info
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