Why such long posts? Here's a short answer

Dear Eco-Transitions visitors,

You won't be surprised to learn that I have been asked by several readers why in the world I post such very long entries.

Well, it's partly because I'm a long-winded writer who needs time and space to make his points. [1] But it's also because I feel that I want this blog to be a genuine place to reflect and dig into deeper and more difficult issues -- at a distance, for the moment, from the alternative formula with short texts and YouTube videos. Both formulas are perfectly fine (see Rob Hopkins's post of May 3, 2011 on his blog for an example of what can be done well with videos), each has its specific audience (guess where the most hits end up?...), and I'll eventually try to offer more of a mix of the two, but right now my priority is to provide analytical substance -- as much substance as I can cram into those posts.

Maybe this makes them too "academic" at times, but that, too -- or so I tell myself -- is a way of showing you respect. I am, after all, an academic and I see my role as being one of disseminating ideas -- not watering them down or making them sound simpler than they are, but disseminating them in the most demanding way possible so that we don't kid ourselves that we've got it all figured out. And if that's so, then there's no use in wanting to placate visitors by simplifying things. (In fact, it would be slightly disrespectful.) The interdependencies involved in today's transition issues are so large and intricate that analysis and complex discussions can't be avoided entirely. Of course, that's no excuse for being obscure or exceedingly convoluted -- I gather I'm not being that, even though I may have momentary lapses. But not too many, I hope...

Once that groundwork has been laid, I expect to be able to occasionally post shorter things, too, such as book reviews or discussions of a very specific point.

I hope this works for you. And thanks so much for checking in, anyway.

Cheers,
Christian

[1] I have also wondered, from time to time, whether perhaps -- more or less unconsciously -- long posts aren't a defense mechanism against having to manage comments. The reader is so exhausted by the end of the entry that s/he can't be bothered to spend additional time and energy writing up and posting a comment. QED...

This post from the "Eco-Transitions" blog by Christian Arnsperger is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.