Talk:Treatise on Habits (part 1-2a)

I am reverting the formatting changes recently made to this treatise. The changes were of two types: Changes to the outlines and changes to the body text.

As far as the outlines go, the user Jossi made some minor headings into major ones, brought some other headings close together by removing spacings and changed a lowercase outline enumeration (the letter "a") into an uppercase outline enumeration (the letter "A"). And as far as the changes to the body text, Jossi removed the horizontal spaces between each article.

To generalize a bit, what Jossi is neglecting, which surprises me as I believe his Wikipedia web page says he is interested in design, is that it tires the intellect to look through the kind of monolithic presentation he is trying to establish.

For instance, his version of the main outline has the appearance of seven main headings lined up, and one of the subordinate outlines has eight. The limit of similar headings the eye can easily process is seven, and more shouldn't be attempted unless there is a good reason. Such a number is especially unnecessary when the treatise naturally seperates itself into different parts as well as subordinate headings which can be presented through horizontal line spaces (as we learned how through making outlines in high school) or lowercase letters (which traditionally express subordination to numbered items).

Also, the eye tires less when it is allowed "resting points" when the body text is seperated into articles rather than allowed to run together. This is especially the case in such dense prose as Aquinas' where recapitulation by going back to the beginning of the article is helpful or necessary.

The benefits of avoiding this monolithic approach will especially be seen when the hyperlinks are added and the underlines present an even greater distracting rhythm to the page. See Treatise on Law for an example of this kind of finished design. 64.154.26.251 01:34, 19 March 2006 (UTC)