The upside of jargon is that it can efficiently convey a precise and sometimes complex idea. The downside is that jargon will be unfamiliar to most people.
Jargon has another important upside: its use is a marker of in-group belonging. So, especially IRL, employing jargon might be psychologically or socially useful for people who are not immediately perceived as belonging in EA, or feel uncertain whether they are being perceived as belonging or not.
Therefore, when first using a particular piece of jargon in a conversation, post, or whatever, it will often be valuable to provide a brief explanation of what it means, and/or a link to a good source on the topic. This helps people understand what you’re saying, introduces them to a (presumably) useful concept and perhaps body of work, and may make them feel more welcomed and less disorientated or excluded.
Because jargon is a marker of in-group belonging, I fear that giving an unprompted explanation could be alienating to someone who makes the implication that jargon is being explained to them because they’re perceived as not belonging. (E.g., “I know what existential risk is! Would this person feel the need to explain this to me if I were white/male/younger?”) In some circumstances, explaining jargon unprompted will be appreciated and inclusionary, but I think it’s a judgment call.
Yes, I think these are all valid points. So my suggestion would indeed be to often provide a brief explanation and/or a link, rather than to always do that. I do think I’ve sometimes seen people explain jargon unnecessarily in a way that’s a bit awkward and presumptuous, and perhaps sometimes been that person myself.
In my articles for the EA Forum, I often include just links rather than explanations, as that gives readers the choice to get an explanation if they wish. And in person, I guess I’d say that it’s worth:
entertaining both the hypothesis that using jargon without explanation would make someone feel confused/excluded, and the hypothesis that explaining jargon would make the person feel they’re perceived as more of a “newcomer” than they really are
then trying to do whatever seems best based on the various clues and cues
with the options available including more than just “assume they know the jargon” and “assume they don’t and therefore do a full minute spiel on it”; there are also options like giving a very brief explanation that feels natural, or asking if they’ve come across that term
One last thing I’d say is that I think the fact jargon is used as a marker of belonging is also another reason to sometimes use jargon-free statements or explain the jargon, to avoid making people who don’t know the jargon feel excluded. (I guess I intended that point to be implicit in saying that explanations and/or hyperlinks of jargon “may make [people] feel more welcomed and less disorientated or excluded”.)
Thanks for this post!
Jargon has another important upside: its use is a marker of in-group belonging. So, especially IRL, employing jargon might be psychologically or socially useful for people who are not immediately perceived as belonging in EA, or feel uncertain whether they are being perceived as belonging or not.
Because jargon is a marker of in-group belonging, I fear that giving an unprompted explanation could be alienating to someone who makes the implication that jargon is being explained to them because they’re perceived as not belonging. (E.g., “I know what existential risk is! Would this person feel the need to explain this to me if I were white/male/younger?”) In some circumstances, explaining jargon unprompted will be appreciated and inclusionary, but I think it’s a judgment call.
Yes, I think these are all valid points. So my suggestion would indeed be to often provide a brief explanation and/or a link, rather than to always do that. I do think I’ve sometimes seen people explain jargon unnecessarily in a way that’s a bit awkward and presumptuous, and perhaps sometimes been that person myself.
In my articles for the EA Forum, I often include just links rather than explanations, as that gives readers the choice to get an explanation if they wish. And in person, I guess I’d say that it’s worth:
entertaining both the hypothesis that using jargon without explanation would make someone feel confused/excluded, and the hypothesis that explaining jargon would make the person feel they’re perceived as more of a “newcomer” than they really are
then trying to do whatever seems best based on the various clues and cues
with the options available including more than just “assume they know the jargon” and “assume they don’t and therefore do a full minute spiel on it”; there are also options like giving a very brief explanation that feels natural, or asking if they’ve come across that term
One last thing I’d say is that I think the fact jargon is used as a marker of belonging is also another reason to sometimes use jargon-free statements or explain the jargon, to avoid making people who don’t know the jargon feel excluded. (I guess I intended that point to be implicit in saying that explanations and/or hyperlinks of jargon “may make [people] feel more welcomed and less disorientated or excluded”.)