4 ms·
It's good writing technique to use an alternative word instead of repeating things.
by KRAKRISMOTT 4y ago
It's good writing technique to use an alternative word instead of repeating things.
- xattt 4y agoSounds like a way to rehash words to avoid reiteration.
- imwillofficial 4y agoNo, it’s just poor writing. You pick a consistent measurement metric so the audience can judge, compare, and contrast between various items you’ve touched on.
- dividedbyzero 4y agoThey're not comparing things to each other, so they don't really have to be that consistent. "Less than five sachets of sugar" is a little more precise than saying "very lightweight", which is a useful level of precision as no one in the audience will know what a typical IR sensor should weigh, but greater precision is of no use to them since they will never handle one outside of a finished product, if at all. Also very low as well as very high weights are harder to relate to for most people, which is why elephants and sheets of paper are used so readily. If done well, this isn't bad style at all, though it is reliably off-putting to people used to read technical documents where precision levels carry a different kind of weight.
- eptcyka 4y agoWhen it's put in the context of older generations weighing several killograms, surely stating the absolute amount would still bring enough context for the reader to understand the severity of change? Or what about referring to the weight both in grams and using a metaphor at the same time?
- imwillofficial 4y agoIn a non-technical piece like this, it’s not the precision, it’s the consistency. If you measure things in sweetener packets, everything is in sweetener packets.
- imwillofficial 4y agoNo, not in this case. You don’t muddy the waters with measurement. You pick a way of expressing it and stay consistent.