Herodotus on the phoenix, on the horned serpent, and on winged snakes

By Gordon Rugg

Just in case the earlier article about Caesar on the unicorn and Roosevelt on the moose left you hungry for more, here’s Herodotus demonstrating that his mastery of colourful travel writing is on a level that can only be matched by Jennifer Lawrence’s mastery of photobombing. And of tripping over at award ceremonies. And of devastating one-liners…

Anyway, here’s Herodotus, writing about Egyptian wildlife.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_%28mythology%29#mediaviewer/File:Phoenix-Fabelwesen.jpg

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Scientific writing and humour

By Gordon Rugg

There are three humorous golden rules that are invaluable in public speaking and in writing for public consumption.

Rule 1: Don’t lie.

Rule 2: Don’t try to be funny.

Rule 3: Above all, don’t panic and blurt out the truth…

When you understand why the third rule doesn’t necessarily break the first rule, then you’re ready to face an unkind world.

There’s a humorous post on Distractify about how the third rule operates in scientific writing. Even if you’re not a scientist, you might find it entertaining and inspirational.

http://distractify.com/geek/science/scientists-get-honest-about-their-methods/