More (not so) fun facts:
54% of American adults read below a 6th grade level.
21% read below a 5th grade level, which is considered functionally illiterate.
High immigration numbers don’t fully explain it either, as first gen immigrants only make up about 1/3 of those with low literacy.
Sometimes I will read a particularly insightful article from a scientific journal that a lot of sources have been referencing lately, and find that I can’t quite follow all the high level technical jargon discussing the topic, and I’ll feel just the smallest bit insecure about my level of intelligence.
But then I see posts like this and it all goes away lol
Field-specific jargon is so niche that it should hardly count. Even if you’re in the same field, you might not be familiar with the tests and metrics they’re using if it’s not your area of research anyway.
jargon is always changing. it’s used as a social sorting mechanism more than anything else. it’s used to signify something is new or special or different or ‘more advanced’, when that is rarely true.
which is precisely why it makes you feel inadequate. it’s designed to do that, to make you feel like you aren’t ‘smart’ and exclude you from the in-group who uses the jargon.
it’s also why marketing companies love jargon. it plays all over people’s insecurities and group-belonging.