HyperReferences

Why do it this way? Because, if you think about it, the whole idea of a reference work is that you suddenly conceive a need to know about something in particular, and so you go look it up. When was the last time you started reading a reference book (for example a user's manual) from the front page and continued through to the last page? Certainly not when you were trying to find the answer to a specific question! This is the difference between a reference work and a teaching text: the latter may have valid pedagogical reasons for leading the student through its contents in a specific sequence, but this intention is lost on the spontaneously curious.

I am assuming that most people who visit a Web site are, in fact, driven by either spontaneous curiosity or some practical need to know a particular thing, which they would like to get to in the most efficient and convenient way possible. Hence the HyperReference, which is meant to be used as follows:

1. Go to the index and find a keyword that suggests the subject in which you are interested; or (better yet) use a search engine provided with the HyperReference to find topics related to a keyword (or words) you enter. When you find a likely topic, click on it!
2. When you arrive at the page containing the linked information, see if it satisfies your curiosity. If not, try step 1 again. If it is the right subject but you are having trouble following the discussion because of unfamiliar terminology or concepts, click on the embedded hyperlinks in the text that will lead you to explanations of those terms or concepts.
3. Repeat step 2 as many times as needed to achieve full satisfaction, or until you get bored and go away. (Curiosity is a powerful motivator, but it can get used up.)