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Re: [bug #39028] [patch] fix and uniformize four error messages
From: |
Edward Welbourne |
Subject: |
Re: [bug #39028] [patch] fix and uniformize four error messages |
Date: |
Tue, 21 May 2013 05:01:25 +0000 |
>> How about using plain language and calling it a "whole number"
>> instead of using jargon ?
>
> How about not catering to the lowest common denominator and devolving
> to baby-speech for fear that someone may be intimidated by a
> dictionary ?
Saying what you mean in the plainest terms possible isn't baby-talk and
isn't about being intimidated by a dictionary: it's about communicating
as clearly and directly as possible. Using jargon is great when it
actually adds something but is mere obfuscation the rest of the time
(often with a side order of patting self on the back for knowing a way
of saying things that some others will find it harder to follow).
In paticular, in the case of "integral", there is a second meaning of
the word (go on, check that dictionary, in case you've forgotten your
calculus) which creates a (completely wanton, given that there's a
plainer term for a number being whole) potential for confusing readers.
Even transient confusion disrupts the flow of reading (as does having to
look a word up in a dictionary, for that matter). Plain language aids
all readers,
Eddy, a mathematician.
[bug #39028] [patch] fix and uniformize four error messages, Paul D. Smith, 2013/05/26