The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing & Thinking [Hardcover]

1. As the reader from Los Angeles pointed out, the whole book is based on the premise that "the mind automatically sorts information into...pyramidal groupings" and that information "is easier to comprehend if it arrives presorted into its pyramid." However, the author didn't give any scientific evidence to support this claim. With some reading in the cognitive science field, my understanding is (more knowledgeable readers can correct me on this), how our mind works is so complicated that no one has actually figured it out. I will be surprised to see any cognitive scientist will assert that the only way our mind works with information is to automatically sort them into pyramidal groups. My personal experience is, sometimes we do, sometimes we don't and sometimes we just can't. When you force issues into pyramidal groupings when you shouldn't, the result can be non-effective and confusing. I think the fact that this book itself is hard to comprehend and its principle is difficult to apply, is a result of the author's artificial pyramidal grouping.

2. Even though pyramidal grouping can work well in some circumstances, the author's attempt to make it an all-comprehending principle forced her to make endless amendment in circumstances its usefulness is questionable. The end result is unnecessary complication of its application. This makes the book far less useful and practical than a basic writing or logic book.

3. Even if the premise of pyramidal grouping is true, even if you can actually apply the principle, it will not necessarily make you an effective communicator. As an owner of a small consulting firm, my experience is that, having your ideas UNDERSTOOD is a totally different thing from having your ideas ACCEPTED. You can make your case perfectly logic and clear, but that dose not necessarily mean people will interested in or accept it. The only way to effectively communicate with other people, is to actively engage their interests, speak/write from their pre-knowledge and perception. That means sometimes you will have to purposefully speak/write in a non-pyramidal way even when the issues can be perfectly organized into pyramidal groupings.

Given the high ranking this book gets on this site, many people will certainly disagree with my review. However, I challenge those who gave this book high marks to enlist their ACTUAL improvements, such as more constructive ideas generated, higher acceptance rates of their work, etc, by actually USING this principle, and benchmark these results against those achieved by reading basic writing and logic advice book.

That said, if you are reading this book in order to get ideas to improve your consulting practice, as I was, this book can be insightful if you look into WHY this whole "pyramidal grouping" thing can be so popular and get such high ranking. My feeling is, with its broad promise, seemingly logical and useful advice, occasional usefulness, it's kind like anti-impotent pill for the paralyzing intellectual problem of how to think and write effectively. I surely wish I could have been the author of such a pill. Geez, the reason I wrote such a length, negative review can well because I'm jealous.

• I believe that my individual papers became trenchant and pithy.
• In a group paper, I was told by the editor that my sections were by far the most understandable.
• While crafting a group presentation, I applied the book's simple logic and immediately clarified our message to the group's praise.
• As editor of another group paper, I was able to rapidly structure tasks, rewrite submissions, and identify logical deficiencies.

ABBREVIATED REVIEW
The book is imperfect, but while some sections of the book can be skipped, none are so long that they need to be.

But readers of the Pyramid Principle don't seek perfection in a book; they desire improvement in their abilities. The most important measure of this type of book is the improvement it causes in its audience's writing. On that I am sure that the Pyramid Principle is one of the best books of its kind. Read this book. Improve your writing, your speaking, and your thinking.

EXTENDED REVIEW
For the full review with more details on the book's content please visit snarley.blogspot.com