As Clear As Mud -Reply

[Wilfred [Bill] Drew]

KAREN SCHNEIDER wrote:
> 
> Several points re other folks' writing.  First, good writing is not
> something we can request of another person; not everyone can
> write well, and apparently some folks have very definite and
> perhaps permanent limitations in this area, despite their best
> efforts. 

I disagree here.  If you are going to communicate ideas you must be able
to express yourslef in a way that can be understood by others.  It is
NOT the job of the person reading the paper to decipher bad writing or
writing that is pure obfuscation and "smoke and mirrors".  

What is irritating is that much of the writing I am talking about was
actually of value if the person had taken the time to write in
understandable english.

> I know I usually write quite well (and in impossibly vain
> moments have been known to re-read portions of my own writing
> for amusement--how I do go on!).  

Karen's writing is always of high quality and understandable.  

> Furthermore, every intellectual issue, however plain it
> might be, has a point beyond which it cannot be simplified.  It is
> then up to us to hitch up our mental britches, as it were, and apply
> ourselves to learning more about the topic.  Just like the librarians
> in this library who use the occasional quiet moment to peruse a
> reference work or memorize a new acronym, simple Calvinist
> effort on the reader's behalf can work wonders, and is a more
> communitarian activity than petulant complaint.

I agree to a certain extent. But the writing I am talking about was in
an area I am very familiar with (or so I thought).  The best technical
and scientific writing can be understood by most people with a college
education.  Take a look at Discover Magazine, National Geographic, or
even Scientific American.
--
Wilfred Drew (Call me "Bill") Serials/Reference/Systems Librarian
SUNY College of Ag. & Tech.;   P.O. Box 902;  Morrisville, NY 13408-0902
Internet: DREWWE at SNYMORVA.CS.SNYMOR.EDU
Phone: (315)684-6055 or 684-6060 Fax: (315)684-6115 
Homepage: http://www.snymor.edu/~drewwe/
Not Just Cows Homepage: http://www.snymor.edu/~drewwe/njc/
LibraryLinks: http://www.snymor.edu/pages/library/
--