Academic Writing is Getting Harder To Read (economist.com)
(Friday December 20, 2024 @11:42AM (msmash)
from the quality-decline dept.)
- Reference: 0175710421
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/12/20/1524250/academic-writing-is-getting-harder-to-read
- Source link: https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/12/18/academic-writing-is-getting-harder-to-read-the-humanities-most-of-all
Academic writing has become [1]significantly less readable over the past 80 years, particularly in humanities and social sciences, according to an analysis of 347,000 PhD abstracts by The Economist. Using the Flesch reading-ease test, researchers found that readability scores in humanities and social sciences plunged from 37 in the 1940s to 18 in the 2020s. The decline was observed across all disciplines, with humanities and social sciences becoming as complex as natural sciences by the 1990s. The study, examining abstracts from 1812 to 2023, covered English-language doctoral theses from British universities.
[1] https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/12/18/academic-writing-is-getting-harder-to-read-the-humanities-most-of-all
[1] https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/12/18/academic-writing-is-getting-harder-to-read-the-humanities-most-of-all
Incomprensable (Score:2)
by Retired Chemist ( 5039029 )
Apparently, many people think that being incomprehensible is a sign of being intelligent. Also, it is a good way of disguising that you have nothing worthwhile to say. I have read many scientific articles that were so full of jargon and inside terminology that they were virtually incomprehensible. This may make you look clever to the in group but practically guarantees that your work will have no lasting impact. Some things are intrinsically complicated, but using language to hide your meanings is an ac
Re: (Score:3)
This social-science speak is how Harris speaks - nonsense about "balancing equities" and "leveraging social structures" and such. It's just meaningless drivel.