Science, Technology, and Environment

November 01, 2005
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ScienceDaily

Writers who use long words needlessly and choose complicated font styles are seen as less intelligent than those who stick with basic vocabulary and plain text, according to new research from the Princeton University in New Jersey, to be published in the next edition of Applied Cognitive Psychology.

This implies that efforts to impress readers by using florid font styles and searching through a thesaurus may have the opposite effect.

Study author Daniel Oppenheimer based his findings on students' responses to writing samples for which the complexity of the font or vocabulary was systematically manipulated. In a series of five experiments, he found that people tended to rate the intelligence of authors who wrote essays in simpler language, using an easy to read font, as higher than those who authored more complex works.

&lqt;It's important to point out that this research is not about problems with using long words but about using long words needlessly,&lqt; said study author Daniel Oppenheimer.

&lqt;Anything that makes a text hard to read and understand, such as unnecessarily long words or complicated fonts, will lower readers' evaluations of the text and its author.&lqt;

The samples of text included graduate school applications, sociology dissertation abstracts, and translations of a work of Descartes. Times New Roman and italicised Juice font were used in samples to further assess the effect of fluency on rating levels.

Interestingly, by making people aware that the source of low fluency was irrelevant to judgement, Oppenheimer found that they overcompensated and became biased in the opposite direction. In a final experiment, he provided samples of text printed with normal and low printer toner levels. The low toner levels made the text harder to read, but readers were able to identify the toner as being responsible for the difficulty, and therefore didn't blame the authors.

&lqt;The continuing popularity amongst students of using big words and attractive font styles may be due to the fact that they may not realise these techniques could backfire,&lqt; Oppenheimer noted.

&lqt;One thing seems certain: write as simply and plainly as possible and it's more likely you'll be thought of as intelligent.&lqt;

Daniel M. Oppenheimer, Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly, Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology 2005, DOI: 10.1002/acp.1178

Full Story: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051031075447.htm
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August 24, 2005
Michael P. Regan
AP

Long Island looked as if it were on fire. That's my view of the New York suburbs on the screen of a Treo Smartphone. A new piece of software gives me real-time traffic updates _ flashing yellow, orange or red circles appear over a road map, depending on the level of hell they portend. ...

With Traffic, there's no need to wait 10 or 15 minutes for the next traffic update on the radio.

Plus, you avoid radio traffic reporters who have to cram so much information into so little time, they end up sounding like auctioneers on caffeine binges.

These reporters typically speak in an incomprehensible jargon, throwing around words like ``spurs'' and ``interchanges'' and bridges with names that only traffic reporters know. It's easy to miss something, then have to wait another 10 to 15 minutes for the next report, only to miss it again. ...

March 10, 2005

FCC news release

The Federal Communications Commission has expanded the federal consumer protection rules that apply to consumers¿ wireless phone bills. It has also asked for comment on additional measures to facilitate the ability of telephone consumers to make informed choices among competitive telecommunications service offerings.

The actions come in response to consumer concerns with the billing practices of wireless and other interstate providers, outstanding issues from the FCC¿s 1999 Truth-in-Billing Order and a petition filed by the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA).

Specifically, the Commission:

- Removed the existing exemption for Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) carriers from the rules requiring that billing descriptions be brief, clear, non-misleading and in plain language ...

Full Story: hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-257319A1.pdf