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Subject:Fog Index, take II From:"Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 31 May 2002 10:05:14 -0400
Sue Ahrenhold admonishes: <<Oh, come on, everybody!>>
Simplistic indices get me far more steamed than they perhaps merit, but I
don't like people getting the impression that they're worth using. Much bad
writing results therefrom, and don't we have enough problems already getting
respect for our profession?
<<All I got from the site was a reminder to Keep It Simple.>>
Which is good advice, provided that you don't use the Fog Index to define
simplicity.
<<Don't use a long word when a short one will do.>>
A textbook case of oversimplifying. The correct statement is "Use the right
word for your audience." For a technical audience, the shorter word is
usually the wrong one. Even for a general audience, the shorter word isn't
always better.
<<Short sentences are easier to understand than long ones.>>
Another case of oversimplifying. The correct statement is "Use the right
sentence length; don't artificially shorten a sentence, nor allow a sentence
to grow so long it collapses under its own weight."
--Geoff Hart, geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada
"User's advocate" online monthly at
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noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience,
which is the bitterest."--Confucius, philosopher and teacher (c. 551-478
BCE)
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