Why Don't Physicists Just Write Clearly?

(readingforlearning.org)

3 points | by the-mitr 2 days ago ago

1 comments

  • jfengel 20 hours ago ago

    Wow, what a terrible example.

    Their "physics English" version doesn't mention North and South; it just introduces the word "pole" without defining it. The average word length is considerably longer.

    The actual verb in their sentence is rather far in. Overall, it's a more complex sentence. The "Plain English" version is targeted at an easier reading level -- presumably, targeted to its audience.

    It's also weird that they're complaining about "physicists" at the beginning, and then comparing it to a "plain English" sentence. That's not a physicist writing; or if it is, it's a physicist acting as a teacher, not as a physicist. That has nothing to do with the way physicists communicate with each other.

    TFA says that their version is "impenetrable", and gives the only actual good advice in the article: write to your target audience.