Comments on: Computer Journalism: Impenetrable technowaffle

By: Gramarye

Gramarye — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 06:53:07 +0000

A Rant about a Rant about Jargon…

Hawk Wings, a blog about mail.app, which is usually pretty good (I probably wouldn’t read a mediocre blog about an entry-level application bundled with my OS), has reprinted (in what is probably a sterling example of so-called “gray”…

By: Steven Vore

Steven Vore — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 16:45:16 +0000

“The writer meant
This small computer is very fast and has a big memory.”

I don’t think so. Form Factor refers to physical size, so “generous memory in a compact form factor” would more accurately mean “lots of memory, fits in a small space” – differentiating it from having a good amount of memory but requiring a shoe box to carry it.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 13:29:41 +0000

I definitely agree with the thrust of your post, but I’m not sure your examples are apt. For instance, in the first example, what the writer meant was “this small computer is very fast, has a big memory, and isn’t too big,” not just “this small computer is very fast and has a big memory.” Similarly, in the second example, it’s neither accurate nor realistic to assume all laptops are expected to be small and light. The majority of laptops–particularly those sold to the corporate market en masse–are neither. When discussing laptops, size and weight (aka. form factor) is an important issue that’s not inherently redundant. Whether “form factor” qualifies as jargon really depends on the audience.

Where jargon is most irritating to me is as a lazy way of avoiding the effort necessary to communicate clearly or explain something properly, couched in a form of intellectual pseudo-elitism. The message is “if you were smarter, you’d understand what I’m saying” when more often than not the reality is “I can’t communicate worth a damn” or, worse, “if you understood what I’m saying you’d probably realize it isn’t that profound after all.”