Comment by fao_

2 days ago

Maybe it's me, but only the first quote seems cumbersome, and wasn't very cumbersome in the article when I read it in context.

Being able to easily, and quickly read scientific literature is not a universal trait. You're in the top 1% (probably top 0.1%?) if you're able to do that and actually understand the source material.

The average person has a hard time reading and fully understanding a newspaper article or cooking instructions on a pre-prepared meal.

  • The first paragraph is fine -- I agree. The second paragraph is a silly hyperbole that comes up over and over again on HN and needs to die. Major newspapers are written for about 8th grade level reading comprehension. Cooking instructions on a prep'd meal are probably much lower -- maybe 5th grade. The "average person" (whatever that term means) living in highly developed nations can read at 8th grade level or above.

”I had no issues with complex sentence structure, therefore the whole planet is fluent in english and college-level literate”

Simpler language is an accessibility issue