I have a similar distinction, but I refer to “documents” and “information”. Except in certain professions, most writing is information.
In my view, if someone needs to sign (or otherwise sanction) a versioned copy of something, then it’s a document and Word might be a good choice. Everything else is information.
In my industry, IT, there have historically been certain ‘artefacts’ that have been treated as documents because they represent a ‘contract’ between two parties. But the vast, vast majority of writing is information. The word “documentation” in the IT context is misleading, as it is always information.
When it comes to authoring information, there are many, many decent systems. However, the far more important aspect to consider is access. It doesn’t matter how brilliant your writing is if the intended audience don’t see it, either from lack of access or barriers of accessibility.
Interesting thread. I’d just throw in two thoughts:
Writing and reading is much too complex to be understood as “either/or”. Anyone arguing that only WYSIWYG or markdown is better has already lost the argument, IMHO. It always depends on the nature of what you are trying to communicate, in what context and for what purpose.
I’m convinced that markdown’s popularity is driven by the same approach that drives some people to insist that every function in software needs to be accessible directly from the keyboard. As many developers are committed to that approach, they’ve tended to offer markdown in more apps than ever really needed it and there is certainly a lot of feedback that demands it (e.g. in notes fields in todo apps)
It’s almost like developers are also big users of software. Who knew? Although adding Markdown to something like a todo app’s note field is end-user-transparent if the end user doesn’t use Markdown, as no toolbar is required.
I like this and it makes sense.
Writing, the act of getting your thoughts out, does not depend on formatting or fonts. Teaching kids about writing is more about organization of thought rather than the operation of a specific software.
I like markdown because I don’t have to fiddle with settings - sections, heading, bullet points are in the text itself.
Would markdown work for teaching kids? I am not so sure of that. Too much emphasis on structure and not enough placed on actually getting the ideas out. Applying structure before formalizing thought could lead to an incomplete understanding.
I am not sure where the answer lies. I like outlines and mind maps, also boxes and lines. They make sense when I am trying to understand and organize information. My son’s brain finds this confusing and a waste of time.
Sometimes just writing things down and seeing where the ideas go, even if it is a messy glob on the page or the screen is a great start for kids and adults.
Forgive me, but as an education leader, I would respond both yes and no to your comment.
It is certainly true that writing extensively is essential to becoming a good writer. However, I would argue—and research supports this—that reading superior literature is equally indispensable. Exposure to excellent writing across various genres not only broadens vocabulary but also introduces transcendent, universal themes such as man against man, man against nature, man against himself, good versus evil, and the like. Good literature serves as a mentor, providing the foundation upon which the apprentice can practice and refine his own craft. Both reading and writing are essential disciplines in the making of a good writer. Moreover, reading great works imparts not only knowledge but also a broader perspective and deeper wisdom, all of which enrich one’s own writing.
I write in Markdown all the time now, not to format the text, but to organize it (using headings, block quotes and the like). If the text requires formatting that’s any more complicated than what Markdown affords, I’ll migrate it over to another tool for the formatting bells and whistles. It’s much the same way I was taught to use html: html syntax is for organizing the document; css is for formatting.
My big beef with Word is that it’s too easy to apply in-line formatting in combination with defined styles, which makes editing someone else’s text next to impossible. I’ve had people circulate documents where half the lists were created using a defined list style and half were created using spaces for indenting and whackadoodle array of bullets, numbers, and letters.
Although adding Markdown to something like a todo app’s note field is end-user-transparent if the end user doesn’t use Markdown, as no toolbar is required.