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Originally Posted by pdurrant
It works the other way round too. Authors have to account for their readers' ignorance: The Tiffany Problem |
Fascinating and illuminating.
I have mixed feelings, though. In part it’s because enlightenment is not always a throwaway line as suggested in the article, but a huge clunky info dump. In part it’s because it lumps all readers into a common pool of ignorance; it plays to the lowest denominator. Some readers - I’d argue the best readers - won’t be fazed. My own preference tends to be along the lines of, “get it right and let the chips fall where they may”; however, I realize that pissing off know-it-all ignoramuses might not be the best strategy to maximize sales and it is a business after all.
So a combination of subtlety and less-is-more? A fine line and there are a lot of people out there who could be clunked with an informational two-by-four and still not get it.
Inspired term and I admit it; a gotcha moment for me.