22 Words

22 Words

Jargon is a whip to beat away the masses.

Technical language is fine.

Just beware of this likely reaction: “I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I’m not curious.”

Update: This video proves my point:

I have no idea if it’s a joke. I hope so. Although, it’s funnier if it’s not.

(via CommonCraft)

Category: Constructive Criticism, Writing

16 Responses

  1. 1
    jenna says:

    i laughed unexpectedly…through my nose…thank you…and i agree. can your mom correct my grammatical errors??? (finally. twenty-two words.)

  2. 2
    Robin says:

    Can you say “flux capacitor”??

    (otherwise, “whitenoise*whitenoise”…;) )

  3. 3
    James says:

    “It’s produced by the modial interaction of Magneto reluctance and capacitive duractness.”

    I didn’t know they were talking about X-Men. Now THAT’S what I’m talking about.

  4. 4
    C. says:

    Two thoughts went through my mind:

    1. “Scarily, I understand some of that. Wow. Is that a good thing?”

    2. “Didn’t we just have a conversation like that over dinner on Tuesday?”

    The joys of marriage to a techie! But I do love the excitement on his face, even if I have no idea what he’s talking about. =)

  5. 5
    Wesley says:

    I’d like to know how much one costs because I’ve been having problems with Sinusoidal Depleneration. I think something’s wrong with my Hydrocoptic Marsel Veins. Or maybe it’s just my Girdle Springs?

    I showed this video to a coworker who used to work with this company. She laughed.

  6. 6
    Eva Joy says:

    Abraham,

    I follow about 40 blogs on my RSS feed and I can honestly say yours is one of my top 3 favorites.

    The first time that I watched this video, I laughed outloud. I watched it a second time and became saddened by the realization that the feeling it gave me is what some of my non-Christian friends describe feeling like when they visit their local church.

    How much of our jargon beats away the masses only to have them reply, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I’m not curious?” : (

  7. 7
    Victor says:

    That video is hilarious!…but i do hope he is reading what he is saying…because if all those words come out of his brain on the spot.. :O ..wow!

  8. 8
    Chelsea says:

    This is how I feel when I read some text books. I think textbook writers get bonuses for using big words.

  9. 9

    I laughed until milk came out of my nose.

    [clarification: I drank milk yesterday.

  10. 10
    TJ says:

    For those who wondered… this is a spoof we produced a few years ago for one of our trade shows. While completely fictitious, it poked fun of our complex product catalog and sometimes techie sales approach.

  11. 11
  12. 12

    [...] As determined by Abraham over at Twenty Two Words. Read the comments too. The accompanying video is High-larious. I have posted it below: [...]

  13. 13
    Shawn says:

    Rest assured, it is most definitely a long-running gearhead joke (and a funny one at that.

    Check it out at:
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turboencabulator

  14. 14
  15. 15
    Amy says:

    Something my dad used to say when I was little, ” The magnitude of your phraseology is too copious for my diminutive comprehension. “

  16. 16
    AOk says:

    Where ARE Rockwell Automation products sold?

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