E-Prime

  • English without "to be" forms
  • this leads to less dogmatic writing:
    • "I feel sad" vs "I am sad"
    • "the electron is a wave" vs "the electron appears as a wave when measured with instrument x"
    • etc.
  • I found out that I personally have a problem with sentences stated in "Aristotelian essentialism" view, meaning "X is Y", etc.

I have found repeatedly that when baffled by a problem in science, in "philosophy," or in daily life, I gain immediate insight by writing down what I know about the enigma in strict E-Prime. Often, solutions appear immediately-just as happens when you throw out the "wrong" software and put the "right" software into your PC.

http://www.nobeliefs.com/eprime.htm