To be free of jargon is a luxury. But is a jargon-free writing style our real goal? "As simple as possible, but not simpler" would seem more practical, even if what that means varies from listener to listener. You have to estimate the jargon level that's acceptable to the first generation of your audience and live with it.

Some people think that jargon, though common in all fields, is more prevalent in engineering than in most other areas because of the highly technical things we engineers deal with every day. In our own fields, some of us read professional journals laced with high-tech terms and complex derivations. Even those of us who read the trade magazines -- which are written more simply -- fall into the habit of writing to an audience that knows what we know. If we use too much jargon, there's why. Either

• we think they know what we know, or
• we don't think about what they know, or
• we think we know more than they do, and think we can prove it to them. Maybe even impress them. (Though I've never met an engineer who's gotten a date as a result of impressive jargon. Have you?)

We use it because we're too used to it, or too lazy, or too clueless, or too fond of it not to.

I've sometimes been accused of ignoring the "Dark Side" or jargon -- assuming engineers use too much of it by accident more often than for any other reason, and that they'd repent and translate if they really knew they had to. (I've been taught to always believe the best about others, at least until they force me not to.)

But jargon does have a dark side: some people use it to posture, to place themselves ahead of others, to gather listeners (!) within their fields. To get ahead. Most of us follow some sort of professional ethics that call on us to get ahead on the basis of our performance. But not all of us. And jargon at least enhances a feeling of elitism among those who use it quite a bit.

But whether we've fallen to the Dark Side or not, we are all subject to the same risks when we throw out those high-tech terms.

Common Problems with Jargon Use by Engineers

• Non-engineers tune us out as soon as the jargon is introduced.
• Different disciplines use different jargon.
• Different practitioners use different jargon, even within the same discipline.
• Using acronyms will sometimes shorten text without simplifying it.
• Some listeners assume jargon to carry an importance that isn't really there.

One of the biggest dangers with jargon is that its excessive use leads to bullshit. Layers and layers of bullshit can be used to surround "fudge factors," for instance, and those factors can't be isolated unless somebody is forced later on to do sanity checks, or (Heaven preserve us) something fails.

Why Engineers Use Jargon Anyway

• To express a concept simply -- to an audience that's more-or-less familiar with it.
• To emphasize the engineer's membership in a group, or connection to the audience.
• To establish intellectual curiosity.
• To establish a connection with specialists, especially publishing, theoretical specialists. (In refereed journals, however, deception is difficult, and for most not worth the effort.)

What You Can Do

• Have your work reviewed by others outside your specialty area. They'll let you know when they don't understand you.
• Gather the unfamiliar-but-necessary terms together and define them with a separate nomenclature section.
• Read your written work out loud. Whenever you find yourself saying "would anyone really SAY that?" it's time to change the way you write it.

References

The New Hacker's Dictionary
Cool Jargon of the Day
a Dictionary of Management Jargon -- totally cool!
Energy Web's Jargon Buster
fire protection scientific jargon
The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation on avoiding jargon
buzzkiller.net has an interesting approach to jargon humor
Nancy Buffington of Youngstown State's English Department assigns a student to explain why engineering jargon makes non-engineers "outsiders" :-)