I gave a talk last week to some young investigators in the institution on how to write grants. Following the main body of the talk that dealt with the finer points of constructing a compelling narrative of your research plan, I spent a few minutes talking about how to take advantage of the fact that you are using a word processor and not a typewriter. I covered some of the same ground that I had mentioned in a previous post, so I won’t go over it again (you’re welcome).
I introduced this topic by asking how many of the attendees learned to type on a typewriter. None raised their hands. Not one. I then asked how many put two spaces after a period. Nearly all raised their hands. I felt very much like a docent in an antiquities museum as I carefully explained that two spaces after a period is a remnant of the dark ages when typewriters ruled the earth, and monospaced fonts were their minions.
Thanks to Howard for sending along this great video from The Onion, which perfectly captures what it feels like to talk about the olden days.
