To be specific: The above is a linear, high-level retelling of the history of smallpox, some of it misleading (eg. about the scab being ‘consumed’, which sounds as if people had to eat it). The creative part is dressing it in a language of metaphor and pathos, which many apparently like, but I was wondering if it was written by AI until I saw the publication date. A composition of first-person accounts and tight, plain-language description of the eradication efforts would have been more powerful. If you disagree, read some good historians.
To be specific: The above is a linear, high-level retelling of the history of smallpox, some of it misleading (eg. about the scab being ‘consumed’, which sounds as if people had to eat it). The creative part is dressing it in a language of metaphor and pathos, which many apparently like, but I was wondering if it was written by AI until I saw the publication date. A composition of first-person accounts and tight, plain-language description of the eradication efforts would have been more powerful. If you disagree, read some good historians.