Re:First Ever Image of a Multi-Planet System Around a Sun-Li...
by eru on Wednesday July 22, 2020 @10:34PM
(#23923634)
When communicating face-to-face, you typically have real time feedback. So you can afford to be more potentially ambiguous, because you monitor for misunderstandings, and clear them up as they arise.
If you want to go all mathematical, that's similar to just sticking a checksum on tcp packets and resending vs the lengths that CD-ROMs go to correct errors.
Or to bring another analogy, compare an interactive proof (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_proof_system) with a more conventional formal proof.
As an aside, people do admire intelligence in real life perhaps more so than physical strength, but a minimum of social acumen goes a long way.
I wish we could get past this (finding intelligence offensive while finding physical strength appealing) as a species. But until then it's good advice.
It's also a bit of a double bind: if you're not precise enough, someone will be offended by your ambiguity. If you're too precise, someone will be offended by your precision. It limits the rate at which experts can convey knowledge, which can be problematic at work as teams are limited to the pace of whoever is most offended.