Timeline for The use of words such as "clearly", "obviously" etc. in a technical paper
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
7 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jun 29, 2013 at 13:24 | comment | added | AJed | @posdef: I am sorry but I really did not understand what you mean. But anyway I just wanted to give an example to support your argument above. | |
| Jun 28, 2013 at 13:42 | comment | added | posdef | @AJed I would suspect that the field in which the article in question is written in, has a role to play. Many here are from maths or CS-related fields, where the articles are written inductively instead of deductively, which is the case for chemistry, biology and medicine... The difference being that findings need to be interpreted in deductive research, which leaves the door open for clumsy expressions such as "... clearly indicates that ..." (Note that I do not approve these expressions, nor do I try to justify them) | |
| Jun 28, 2013 at 13:29 | comment | added | AJed | @JeffE: I remember that we were studying once in school a text written by "Ibn Khaldoun", an Arabic scholar in the 1300's. We noticed the use of many statements that would be be considered nowadays as "arrogant". The teacher, I remember, said that the author (i.e. Ibn Khaldoun) is allowed to do that given that he is a big-name scholar. I remember the teacher said this technique was followed by other big name scholars of that time. But this could be a cultural matter more than anything. | |
| Jun 28, 2013 at 6:20 | comment | added | posdef | @JeffE it was the lecturer in the course I mentioned, who is a professor in linguistics I believe. So it's not something I made up myself :) | |
| Jun 28, 2013 at 3:46 | comment | added | JeffE | if you are a big-name professor in your field, you can use it without offending someone — [citation needed] | |
| Jun 27, 2013 at 17:18 | comment | added | Paddy Landau | I would add that if it is clear or obvious, explain how it is clear: "X is clearly the case, as shown by Y." (In other words, the words "clearly" or "obvious" are unnecessary fillers and can be omitted.) If it is being used as a power-stance, I would not accept it even from a top-level expert — or my boss. | |
| Jun 27, 2013 at 16:26 | history | answered | posdef | CC BY-SA 3.0 |