Delving Deeper
Over the past few years, daily newspapers have been becoming more focused on doing in-depth, long-length feature pieces. Wire services are replacing newspaper bureaus on hard news stories all over the world. There is an increasing amount of attention paid to the subsections of papers, such as the Travel, Business, and Health.
An article of note: In an article in the science section of The New York Times, “Mirrors Used to Explore How the Brain Interprets Information,” Natalie Angier writes a beautiful lede, referencing myths and Shakespearean drama. The article, at first read, sounds a bit like a book review: beautifully woven, elegant yet not flowery language.
The structure is quite obvious: literary reference to analysis of study to quotes to conclusion based on initial literary reference. Surprisingly, this style of writing works well for this scientific piece. It makes the topic approachable for those without a background in it.
The caption photo on the left side of the second page, courtesy of the Wildlife Conservation Society, says “Asian elephants are among the few nonhuman animals found to recognize themselves in mirrors.” I was quite pleased to see humans referred to as animals. It seems so easy to forget that we are.
She incorporates the information necessary to help readers understand the study into a smart literary piece. To bring home her point at the end, she says: “When we gaze into a mirror, we are all of us Narcissus, tethered eternally to our doppelgänger on the other side.”