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> This often comes up in discussions about jargon. Jargon is a way to increase the density of communication. This is often perceived as a loss of clarity, but t
by audience_mem 7y ago
> This often comes up in discussions about jargon. Jargon is a way to increase the density of communication. This is often perceived as a loss of clarity, but the question again is, clarity for who? For two experts, discussing complex things in their field of expertise, jargon can increase clarity, by referring to shared context. Higher bandwidth communication allows for more discussion of more complex topics, because you're not wasting time and mental energy re-explaining things from first principles.
> Put another way, there is always some shared context going on; that's what language actually is in the first place. I have used a number of words in writing this comment, but I haven't set out any definitions; that's because I'm assuming that you know English in order to read my comment. If I were trying to communicate to a child, I wouldn't be using all of the words that I'm using here, because it is too complicated for them to comprehend. But, trying to explain the topic of this comment to that child would take much longer, and be much more difficult.
Thanks for this. I always struggle to articulate it.