Issue 109 – March 2022
Break the ‘curse of knowledge’ by explaining acronyms
“The Curse of Knowledge…says that once you know something, it’s hard to imagine not knowing it [which] makes it harder for you to communicate clearly.” – Chip & Dan Heath, Made To Stick
What does PXO mean?
The mysterious case of PXO began with a pile of traffic cones at two nearby parks. A few weeks later, signs arrived, announcing a “PXO Program.” It was a term I’d never heard, and the name of the contractor involved (Aqua Tech Solution Inc.) suggested water might be involved. Puzzling.
I had to visit the town’s website to find out PXO means “Pedestrian Crossover Control” (so, technically PXOC). Oh, I guess these are long-awaited crosswalks coming to the two school bus stops!
Nice that the town (sort of) alerted residents, but “Crosswalk coming soon” would have been clear instead of confusing.
As with most acronyms and abbreviations, PXO probably makes perfect sense to the people working on the project. They use the initials all the time. They can’t imagine someone scratching their head and wondering what those seemingly random letters mean.
They have the Curse of Knowledge, also called the Curse of Expertise. The Curse of Knowledge means that “Once you know something, it’s hard to imagine not knowing it,” say brothers Chip and Dan Heath in Made to Stick. That makes it harder to communicate clearly.
Besides being unclear, “Text studded with abbreviations is hard to read and unsightly,” says The Canadian Press Stylebook. “Avoid it when an option exists.”
Here's how:
1. Use another word rather than initials or abbreviations. “For ease of reading or variety, a general term is often preferable to an abbreviation,” says the Stylebook. This applies to a second reference as well.
2. If someone insists you use abbreviations, spell them out. Don’t assume everyone knows what the initials stand for.
“Not everyone knows that MADD means Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and even if everyone did, there are babies born every minute who will someday encounter the name for the first time. They deserve to see the words, not simply the initials.” – Strunk & White, The Elements of Style
3. Spell the term in full on first mention, with initials in brackets if they will be used again elsewhere.
4. Try to avoid using several sets of abbreviations in one sentence or you’ll end up with alphabet soup.
5. Explain non-English abbreviations that may be unfamiliar, or acronyms that don’t match the explanation (like PXO mentioned earlier).
6. Initials in brackets aren’t necessary if you aren’t going to use the term elsewhere.
What other examples of the Curse of Knowledge have you seen? What advice would you give to communicate clearly when you’re grappling with acronyms?
Related reading:
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
Recently in the Red Jacket Diaries:
ICYMI, February edition: How to help Ukraine, jargon to avoid + more
Hold onto your dictionaries, it’s National Grammar Day
© Copyright 2022 Get It Write. All rights reserved. Find me online at GetItWrite.ca, connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on Twitter. And why not subscribe to Wordnerdery?