RE: Academic acronyms Was: need info

Interesting (and fun) stuff to ponder here...

I am a technical editor in telecommunications and a newbie web designer. I
never cease to be amazed by techno-babble, acronyms (we have a 50 page acro
list here) and the misconception that using longer words makes you sound
smarter.  "Usage" and "utilize" are two of my personal faves.  I also like
"at the present moment" for "now".  Don't get me started....

Thanks for adding a little laughter to an otherwise stressful editing day!

Ann



> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-hwg-basics(at)hwg.org [mailto:owner-hwg-basics(at)hwg.org]On
> Behalf Of Jim Tom Polk
> Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2000 1:16 PM
> To: hwg-basics(at)mail.hwg.org
> Subject: Academic acronyms Was: need info
>
>
> I wonder if anyone has ever correlated the level of expertise exerted
> outside of their field of expertise to the field length of the acronyms
> that they use after and before their proper names?
>
> Note the word, ''use''. In the USA, for graduates of certain
> institutions (like Harvard and the University of Chicago) they normally
> do not ''use'' the acronyms, but the smaller and lest prestigious the
> institution, the more people seems to assert the usage of those
> acronyms.
>
> Gotta be a paper in there somewhere.
>
> Anyway, I use this as sort of an ad hoc litmus test when dealing with
> people. If I get their card and it has a lot of acronyms before and
> after, and they make a point of being called Dr. Such-n-Such I get a
> deep vibe in my bones that they are going to assume that their expertise
> in one narrow field will carry over into web site design.
>
> If instead I get a card and during the conversation I discover that they
> are have a Dr. and a PhD, and a M.S, and a B.S or B.A, and an Esq. and
> an LLS (nowhere listed on their business card) and are a Senior Research
> Fellow and then want me to call them by their first name, I sort of
> relax when dealing with discussing web site design.
>
>
>
> > >As for the implied question coming up as to why we don't
> maintain better
> > >control of the site, that answer is easy.  Politics, or more
> accurately the
> > >Ivory Tower syndrome.  People with letters and acronyms after
> their names have
> > >a self-importance level way beyond their area of expertise.
> >
> > *ROFL* - I know exactly what you mean ;-)
>
> --
>
>
> Jim Tom Polk -:- jtpolk(at)texas.net -:- http://camalott.com/~jtpolk/
> 	''You might as well fall flat on your face as
> 	  lean over too far backwards.''      --James Thurber--
>    "The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three
>           elements: energy, matter and enlightened self-interest."
>  		- G'Kar  "Survivors"
>

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