antennae vs antennas

[Jim Mason]

After an absence of two weeks for a vacation, I rejoined the list yesterday
to discover a fresh stew simmering regarding "scientific jargon vs. plain
english".  I do not know how the thread first started and I hope those who
have been in full attendance will forgive me if I end up recovering some
ground.  I will preface my contribution by stating that I am in the business
of public education as an interpretive naturalist and that I am also a
founding member of the local chapter of NABA here in Wichita, KS.  I also
have a B.S. in Biology and am no stranger to, shall we say, "tech talk".  I
am not a professional Lepidopterist, just someone who listens to this list
for resources that could be useful for dealing with the never-ending series
of doozie questions I am presented with by everyone from 2nd graders to
seniors.

I must side with Jeff Glassberg on this one.  Effective PUBLIC communication
on science requires reaching a common level of understanding with an economy
of words.  I know that many on this list are justifiably proud of their
mastery of the minutiae of Lepidoptera terminology and that of entomology in
general.  And, in many circumstances, it is unavoidable to use any word
other than the 5 dollar one that exists within the world of a given
specialty, because there are no other choices.  And within the world of such
specialists, that is the best thing to do because that common level of
understanding is already there.  Jeff said as much in his column.

For purposes of working with the public, however, jargon is something that
should be avoided when possible unless you are willing to throw in some
extra sentences along with the term in order to define it EVERY time you use
it.  If a 50 cent alternative exists, it is counterproductive to use the 5
dollar term instead.  That, I believe, was the point Jeff was trying to make
in his editorial, which was NOT posted on Leps-L (as far as I know) but
rather in "American Butterflies".  NABA is mainly concerned with
popularizing butterflying, rather than with advancing the science of
Entomology, and unnecessary jargon just gets in the way of that.  For the
NABA audience, that column was right on the money.

In addition, the 50 cent term often has a whimsical property that makes it
more memorable to an outsider and I think this principle can be well
illustrated by the following:  How many use the term "pulling tails" as
opposed to "dissecting the genitalia"?  The first time I heard the former
used in context I knew immediately what it meant and have retained that
knowledge ever since.

By the way, I do not subscribe to the News of the Lepidopterist's Society
because it is more technical than I want to bother with.  I do not think
this makes me a bad person, Mr. Schappert, or a congenitally lazy one, Mr.
Plauzoles, just someone with a different level of interest.

Jim Mason
jmason at ink.org