Antennae vs. antennas

[Liz Day]

> A good teacher will know how to teach all three and yet not allienate 
> that "third" group.  I think that Phil's attitude (that dumbing down is 
> inherently bad) is right.  

I agree - but I don't see a preference for non-technical language as
dumbing down.  In fact I see that term as a bit insulting myself...  I
see it as a sign of good, clear speech or writing, the way I would talk to
almost any group of adults (except those professionally versed in the
particular topic). 

However, a friend on this list said that one needs to use a different
presentation approach with different audiences, rather than change the
terminology.  So I may be confounding the two. 

I do worry that people (especially kids) think that by knowing the name
of something, they know all about it.  

Past experience with scientific language that effectively blocked what I
was trying to find out about has made me a bit rabid on the subject. 

Liz Day