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Subject:Re: Golden Rules of Writing From:Laura Johnson <lauraj -at- CND -dot- HP -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 23 Dec 1994 18:37:17 GMT
Liz Babcock (liz_babcock -at- c28b5 -dot- chinalake -dot- navy -dot- mil) wrote:
: Ms. Cole quoted Nils Bohr, and I'm sorry that I don't have the direct quote
: (which I intend to look up someday when I have the time). Anyway, Bohr
: observed something to the effect that communication of complex technical
: subjects was a tradeoff between precision and clarity.
There's a quote on my board "Never express yourself more clearly than
you think." - N. Bohr.
IMHO there's a big difference between precision and correctness. It's okay
to be less precise sometimes. In fact, it's often best to omit details
that your reader doesn't need. It's not okay to be wrong. Never lie to
your reader.
--
Laura Johnson
lauraj -at- fc -dot- hp -dot- com
Hewlett Packard NSMD
Ft. Collins, CO