Comment by btilly

With all due respect, I disagree.

You are providing the standard excuse. It is our job to advance knowledge. It is someone else's job to communicate it to a broader audience. It's just too bad that nobody is stepping up and doing that other job.

I don't buy it. In my experience, most scientific papers can easily be rewritten into simpler language. The act of trying to do so often catches mistakes - thereby immediately improving how well we are advancing knowledge. The resulting paper is easier to read. This makes it more likely to become better known. Both within its subfield, and in a broader audience.

The habit of doing this makes us better communicators. Which also helps academics in various other parts of their job. Including teaching the next generation.

Furthermore, easier to read papers are easier for science popularizers to understand. Which makes it more likely that the work will be popularized.

Yes, it is tempting for academics to deflect responsibility for their role in being understandable. But it is a mistake for them to do so. Their ability to communicate in an understandable way is their responsibility. The few that take up that responsibility benefit themselves.