Hugh Kenner's vivacity often stems from his use of anecdotes. Here is an example:
Buckminster Fuller reminds us how for generations it had taken Harvard students all day to visit Boston from Cambridge via Watertown Bridge. The subway that was opened in 1913 promptly cut a leisurely day to seven minutes. That had happened in Fuller's freshman year, and it led him, he says, to speculations about space-time acceleration and the finite velocity of light. (The Mechanic Muse, 27)
Now, this sticks to one's memory. Easily. A point to be emulated.
