Not Rhetoric

The navigation system we are designing isn't a normal rhetorical tool. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, of winning an argument, of leading someone to your conclusion. All of which are very useful activities. But it is not what we want. In creating this site, we wanted to explore with you, not convert you. We hope you'll amble around, motivated by curiosity, piqued by the ideas we've laid out, pushing back, contributing to their evolution or introducing new perspectives.

This is a different style and structure of writing. One way to think about it is that Carie has a tendency to bury her lede. She can dance all around an idea and not actually nail it. Is this a failure of the writing craft? Sometimes. Or— other times it might be a reflection of the relationship we're trying to build with you, one that has nothing to do with nails or hammers. We are inviting you to build your own conclusions. It is almost as though we were building the ideas by drawing them in negative space [see drawing]. Or better yet, it is the paths you choose that help you make your own drawing.