Big Words Make You Seem Stupider

1. Jay
   August 2nd, 2009 at 2:32 pm

   Yes, but there's a difference between using a big word whose meaning you don't know with using a big word because it's the only what that means exactly what you're trying to say. This study doesn't really seem to demonstrate anything other than that using words that don't mean exactly what you're trying to say is worse than using words that do mean what you're trying to say.

2. Skipweasel
   August 2nd, 2009 at 3:33 pm

   Aaaargh - utilise. There's no need for it. Use use.

3. kevin
   August 2nd, 2009 at 6:11 pm

   "The consequence of erudite vernacular utilized irrespective of necessity is that you wind up sounding like a moron"

   see..............GRE, where one's ability to memorize thousands of useless words is claimed to equal projected graduate success

   don't blame the students

4. Kristofer
   August 2nd, 2009 at 7:48 pm

   Somebody should email this article to Cory Doctorow

5. ted
   August 2nd, 2009 at 8:17 pm

   Didn't we already know this?

6. Tempscire
   August 2nd, 2009 at 10:07 pm

   My high school teachers warned against this since usually the students reaching for the thesaurus had no idea what the connotations of the big word were, creating vaguely gibberish-like sentences.

   So...duh.

7. Johnny Cat
   August 2nd, 2009 at 11:14 pm

   That's ludicrous. You're being ignorant. Isn't that ironic?

8. Johnny Cat
   August 2nd, 2009 at 11:21 pm

   It reminds me of the story of a young private school pupil who, in his essay about his loss of his sister at an early age, described his emotions. Having written about his tears he cried numerous times, he reached for the thesaurus, and found a substitute word he thought made him seem smart.

   "As the lacerates rolled down my face..." he wrote, eternally securing his place in the world's collective as Boy President extraordinaire.

9. D.W.
   August 3rd, 2009 at 5:24 am

   Um, like, you know, basically, like, those uh, big words are definitely, like, totally, uh, like, you know, for losers.

10. D Bozko
    August 3rd, 2009 at 6:33 am

    Skipweasel. The word is utilize and sometimes a "big" word just better conveys the thought.

11. Jay
    August 3rd, 2009 at 7:47 am

    Using polysyllabic words needlessly is also a staple of comedy. Exaggerated, over-the-top diction is common in Calvin and Hobbes, etc, for sheer comic effect.

    "Never use a big word when a diminutive one will do."
    

12. Video Game Dork
    August 4th, 2009 at 1:30 am

    " As the grandiosity and complexity of the language increased, the judges’ estimation of the intelligence of the authors decreased."

    I wonder if this is because the judges themselves didn't really understand the words used, and subconciously the 'dislike of unknown' habit of humans provoked them to be more critical of the work. Thus, when asked about intelligence, they said 'less!' for the works that had more words they didn't understand. (If that's true, then they might have said 'less!' when asked to compare any other aspects, like the author's morality, wit, humor, etc.)

13. rawer
    August 12th, 2009 at 11:50 pm

    KISS

    keep
    it
    simple
    stupid.

    if i have a hard time reading something that can be explained easily, i find another way to find it out.

14. arjoon
    September 2nd, 2009 at 7:11 pm

    big words are sometime good in expressing sophisticated events

15. Max
    October 12th, 2009 at 4:17 am

    Holy Carp, really?

    Yo Skipdub, and all yer comment-"utilizing" posse, it's part of the joke. The Neatos are using unnecessarily dense language to convey the very premise of the post. Yeesh. Back to skool fo' all you fools.

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