the beauty of simple language
Sandra Dodd
I was looking for a quote I was half remembering, about teaching and
simple language. It was something about if one doesn't understand it
well enough to put it in simple terminology, that they're not ready to
teach it. Maybe I learned it in an education class, to be
remembering it in that context.
I found this list of quotes, and some of them are great:
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/resources/quotes/historical.cfm
Off and on over the day I looked. I've found what might be what I
was thinking of:
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
It's credited to Albert Einstein. I tried to find a source, but
failed. If anyone knows when or where it was said or written, I'd
appreciate seeing it in context.
For a combination of reasons, I've always liked the fact that inside
of English is its root language, ancient and powerful. Then there's a
blanket of Latin and French over the top of it all, with history in
the Norman Conquest and the Catholic Church and all kinds of medieval
history, and yet there are words there that are 1500 years old, give
or take a few hundred years, and they were words in long-forgotten
European tribes before that.
Oh yeah. I love those words:
http://sandradodd.com/smallwords
and the beauty of the language of the King James Bible is all about
that, too.
Sandra
simple language. It was something about if one doesn't understand it
well enough to put it in simple terminology, that they're not ready to
teach it. Maybe I learned it in an education class, to be
remembering it in that context.
I found this list of quotes, and some of them are great:
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/resources/quotes/historical.cfm
Off and on over the day I looked. I've found what might be what I
was thinking of:
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
It's credited to Albert Einstein. I tried to find a source, but
failed. If anyone knows when or where it was said or written, I'd
appreciate seeing it in context.
For a combination of reasons, I've always liked the fact that inside
of English is its root language, ancient and powerful. Then there's a
blanket of Latin and French over the top of it all, with history in
the Norman Conquest and the Catholic Church and all kinds of medieval
history, and yet there are words there that are 1500 years old, give
or take a few hundred years, and they were words in long-forgotten
European tribes before that.
Oh yeah. I love those words:
http://sandradodd.com/smallwords
and the beauty of the language of the King James Bible is all about
that, too.
Sandra
Pam Sorooshian
On 3/27/2009 5:02 PM, Sandra Dodd wrote:
When I teach advanced economics courses, I have an exercise in which my
students write about rather complex issues without using any economics
jargon. It means they can't make assumptions about what the other person
knows, they can't take short-cuts, and they have to far more thoroughly
explain their reasoning. This is a fantastic exercise for helping them
uncover what they don't, themselves, fully understand.
It isn't an insult to their intelligence to ask them to do this, it is
only those with the deepest understanding who find it easy.
-pam
> "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."As I read these words, I was just writing this:
>
>
When I teach advanced economics courses, I have an exercise in which my
students write about rather complex issues without using any economics
jargon. It means they can't make assumptions about what the other person
knows, they can't take short-cuts, and they have to far more thoroughly
explain their reasoning. This is a fantastic exercise for helping them
uncover what they don't, themselves, fully understand.
It isn't an insult to their intelligence to ask them to do this, it is
only those with the deepest understanding who find it easy.
-pam
Anne Mills
Dear Sandra
The quote i believe comes from this ancient French quote from Nicolas Boileau
Ce que l'on conçoit bien s'énonce clairement,
Et les mots pour le dire arrivent aisément." Nicolas Boileau Art poétique, Chant I, vers 153-154, an de grâce 1674.
Which translates into English
''the well formed though comes out clearlyand the words to express it come easily''
An art that you master quite a bit ! lol
Anne
To: [email protected]
From: Sandra@...
Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:02:12 -0600
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] the beauty of simple language
I was looking for a quote I was half remembering, about teaching and
simple language. It was something about if one doesn't understand it
well enough to put it in simple terminology, that they're not ready to
teach it. Maybe I learned it in an education class, to be
remembering it in that context.
I found this list of quotes, and some of them are great:
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/resources/quotes/historical.cfm
Off and on over the day I looked. I've found what might be what I
was thinking of:
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
It's credited to Albert Einstein. I tried to find a source, but
failed. If anyone knows when or where it was said or written, I'd
appreciate seeing it in context.
For a combination of reasons, I've always liked the fact that inside
of English is its root language, ancient and powerful. Then there's a
blanket of Latin and French over the top of it all, with history in
the Norman Conquest and the Catholic Church and all kinds of medieval
history, and yet there are words there that are 1500 years old, give
or take a few hundred years, and they were words in long-forgotten
European tribes before that.
Oh yeah. I love those words:
http://sandradodd.com/smallwords
and the beauty of the language of the King James Bible is all about
that, too.
Sandra
_________________________________________________________________
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
The quote i believe comes from this ancient French quote from Nicolas Boileau
Ce que l'on conçoit bien s'énonce clairement,
Et les mots pour le dire arrivent aisément." Nicolas Boileau Art poétique, Chant I, vers 153-154, an de grâce 1674.
Which translates into English
''the well formed though comes out clearlyand the words to express it come easily''
An art that you master quite a bit ! lol
Anne
To: [email protected]
From: Sandra@...
Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:02:12 -0600
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] the beauty of simple language
I was looking for a quote I was half remembering, about teaching and
simple language. It was something about if one doesn't understand it
well enough to put it in simple terminology, that they're not ready to
teach it. Maybe I learned it in an education class, to be
remembering it in that context.
I found this list of quotes, and some of them are great:
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/resources/quotes/historical.cfm
Off and on over the day I looked. I've found what might be what I
was thinking of:
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
It's credited to Albert Einstein. I tried to find a source, but
failed. If anyone knows when or where it was said or written, I'd
appreciate seeing it in context.
For a combination of reasons, I've always liked the fact that inside
of English is its root language, ancient and powerful. Then there's a
blanket of Latin and French over the top of it all, with history in
the Norman Conquest and the Catholic Church and all kinds of medieval
history, and yet there are words there that are 1500 years old, give
or take a few hundred years, and they were words in long-forgotten
European tribes before that.
Oh yeah. I love those words:
http://sandradodd.com/smallwords
and the beauty of the language of the King James Bible is all about
that, too.
Sandra
_________________________________________________________________
Vous voulez savoir ce que vous pouvez faire avec le nouveau Windows Live ? Lancez-vous !
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowslive/default.aspx
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]