Douglas says: “”“ And then there are a few like “too complicated.” You call those “negative affect words”? Surely it is better to say “that is too complicated to be true” than to say simply “that is not true”? “””
Well, yes, but that’s only when whatever you mean by complicated has something to do with being true. Some people though, just use the phrase “too complicated” just so they can avoid thinking about an idea, and, in that context it really is an empty negative-affect phrase.
Of course, it is better for a scientist to say “that’s too complicated to be true” rather than just “that’s not true.” You’re not done by any means once you’ve made a claim about whether something is true or false; the claim still needs to be backed up. The point was simply that any characterization of an idea is bad unless that characterization really does have something to do with whether the idea is true.
Douglas says: “”“ And then there are a few like “too complicated.” You call those “negative affect words”? Surely it is better to say “that is too complicated to be true” than to say simply “that is not true”? “””
Well, yes, but that’s only when whatever you mean by complicated has something to do with being true. Some people though, just use the phrase “too complicated” just so they can avoid thinking about an idea, and, in that context it really is an empty negative-affect phrase.
Of course, it is better for a scientist to say “that’s too complicated to be true” rather than just “that’s not true.” You’re not done by any means once you’ve made a claim about whether something is true or false; the claim still needs to be backed up. The point was simply that any characterization of an idea is bad unless that characterization really does have something to do with whether the idea is true.