You won't believe the 10 ways that listening to this podcast could change your life!!! This week we discuss writing and whether it is the author's responsibility to engage their audience or the reader's responsibility to buckle down and concentrate.

We look at whether the quality of writing affects the quality of the argument and if it is the case that some subject matter cannot be reduced to simple language. We discuss the idea of irreducible complexity and Flesch–Kincaid readability tests. Peter presents his ‘naive information theory’ and Nick proposes an economic model based on the market of ideas. Finally, we share some of our most loved pieces of text that we still regard as terrible writing.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

- Feld et al., ‘Writing Matters’ https://janfeld.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/8/9/118933153/writing_matters.pdf

- Flesch-Kincaid readability tests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesch%E2%80%93Kincaid_readability_tests

- Are Reading and Writing Building on the Same Skills? https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11145-018-9874-1

- Cognitive Engineering podcast: Simplification https://alephinsights.com/podcast/2021/06/simplification

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Image: Geoffrey Barker via Wikimedia Commons