For example, you read "Nothing that needs saying can be said briefly." and take away the idea that "Nothing important can be said briefly.". Whoops! Brevity has let the important point get lost.
There is a trick to saying important things in just a few words: jargon! It doesn't have to be jaw breakingly polysyllabic. One can achieve compression of meaning with a homely word or phrase, set in a context that evokes its special meaning. Economists do this with comparative advantage and also with public goods.
Some of your readers will understand; others will not. Who understands? Those who have studied the matter already. And in the course of their study they have already understood the important point. So yes, it was important, but no, it didn't need saying; they already knew. As for the others, since it is important, it does need saying; but how? It will have to be said at length, telling the stories behind the special phrases such as comparative advantage and public goods, because the true meaning resides in the long stories.
happytoes 1 points 4 hours ago
Nothing that needs saying can be said briefly.
For example, you read "Nothing that needs saying can be said briefly." and take away the idea that "Nothing important can be said briefly.". Whoops! Brevity has let the important point get lost.
There is a trick to saying important things in just a few words: jargon! It doesn't have to be jaw breakingly polysyllabic. One can achieve compression of meaning with a homely word or phrase, set in a context that evokes its special meaning. Economists do this with comparative advantage and also with public goods.
Some of your readers will understand; others will not. Who understands? Those who have studied the matter already. And in the course of their study they have already understood the important point. So yes, it was important, but no, it didn't need saying; they already knew. As for the others, since it is important, it does need saying; but how? It will have to be said at length, telling the stories behind the special phrases such as comparative advantage and public goods, because the true meaning resides in the long stories.