To clarify: I don't think Paul Graham meant ramble, use "uhs" and "ums" and expletives as some commenters have said. I think the point was to use common and s

To clarify: I don't think Paul Graham meant ramble, use "uhs" and "ums" and expletives as some commenters have said. I think the point was to use common and simple wording so that people can understand without doing a lot of work. People have a lot more practice understanding common and simple words. So it's much easier for them to read, no matter how smart they are. Using uncommon or complicated words makes you feel smart, and might make some people think you're smart, but it makes your writing miserable work to read. I think this was pretty clear in PG's essay, but the headline probably threw people off. Maybe he should have said it differently, such as "Make your writing as simple as your speech."