How many things can a single article conflate? 'reading ease' amounts to applying a three-variable regression on a text and basically says "longer words and sen

How many things can a single article conflate? 'reading ease' amounts to applying a three-variable regression on a text and basically says "longer words and sentences make you sound smart." It's not the tool you want to use to measure "sophistication." Even if we were to use such a crude metric, cognitive decline does not mean a person's speech becomes simpler or easier to understand. It's just the opposite (see word salad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_salad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_salad).