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There's clarity in simplicity, in the same way that a 900 page TOS is not as clear as a 2 page TOS regardless of how precise the former's language is. Whether o

• kbenson 10y ago
  There can be clarity in simplicity, but it's not ensured. It's easily possible to simplify to the point where clarity is lost. The canonical example here is "I will replace it with something great". That's very simple, but also not clear at all. That is, while it's clear what he wants to do, it's not clear at all what he plans to do, because that information has been removed in the name of simplicity (assuming it ever existed).
  • ethbro 10y ago
    Granted, but I would argue the counter-example is true too: that clarity can be lessened by adding complexity. And I would argue that's currently a bigger problem in our society (particular with matters legal and political) than the one you outlined. I feel there has to be a formula that defines how many people stop reading for each additional word you add to an informative document. If you have written a 20,000 word document every time you're asked "Do you support the war in Iraq?" then I'm going to call bullshit. Holding people accountable for their promises by a democratic electorate is impossible for promises over a certain level of complexity -- the voting mass simply doesn't have the time. And proxying personal research to biased, for-profit news organizations seems to be another feature that's gotten us into this mess.