this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2024
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Science Memes

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submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 136 points 2 weeks ago (55 children)

quick rant

i'm so tired of over the top "intellectual" vocabulary in academia. a lot of concepts could be explained with simple words and would get the point across just as well, or better, and additionally make the conversation more accessible to those outside of a specific field. Why do you need to use big smart words to explain simple things? Is it because it tickles your ego when people need 10 minutes to comprehend one sentence? argh

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Honestly. Working with academics in science was so annoying at times exactly because too many academics talk just like this.

Too often I sat with them wishing I could just tell them to speak plainly FFS - unnecessarily complex, overly specific jargon doesn't make you look any better, it makes you look smarmy.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

They're probably insecure and intelligence and people's perception of it is their only crutch.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I wouldn’t assume malice in all cases. Maybe they just aren’t great at breaking down complex subjects into plain language because it’s complex. Being an effective communicator and teacher is a skill that needs a lot of patience, practice, development, and feedback in order to get good, especially when trying to convey ideas through speech.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

Einstein said if you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough. And drag trusts Einstein, because he was an expert at understanding complicated things.

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