Ok, crisis averted. I feel much more secure about my perceptions of reality now. Also, great pull quote: “In editing letters for “Dear Farhad,” my occasional tech-advice column, I’ve removed enough extra spaces to fill my forthcoming volume of melancholy epic poetry, The Emptiness Within.”
I will use two spaces until I die. What galls me most about this article is the readability argument (although I must concede that the author singles it out as the weakest argument). I quite prefer the extra pause of a double space after a period and think it has, if any, a positive impact on readability.
In truth, neither is wrong and it is generally regarded as a matter of preference; the MLA article the author links to concedes this point, and the CMOS link leads to a shockingly subjective account of typing that begrudgingly admits that there is no consensus even amongst his colleagues, and then follows up with baseless anecdotal claims about an increased number of typos in writing that uses two spaces (see item 4 in the CMOS article).
Sure, the rule came about because of an outdated technology, but there is nothing wrong with it, so I’ll follow it. Besides, the most modern piece of technology I own (my iPhone) bases its auto-typing off of the two space rule. So until someone invents something new that compels me to use one space, I will, as the expression goes, keep on keeping on. After all, the author’s cornerstone argument is that advances in technology should dictate our style decisions, so I see nothing wrong with my position’s tech support.
(Source: laughingsquid)
