Does Accuracy Matter?
Does Accuracy Matter?
How close is “Good Enough for Government Work” as the adage goes?
Accuracy is crucial in fine machinery, precise instrumentation, and delicate medical devices; to name a few.
Writers chose words carefully to keep text as short, yet as meaningful as possible.
I just finished David Herbert Donald’s book: Lincoln. His book contained 87 pages of references out of 599 pages of text, not counting the Index. This comprises, 14.5% of the entire book. One must appreciate the effort made by the author to be accurate.
A few years ago, when starting a new book, I would make a list of words that I either did not know or words that I was not sure of their meaning. Now, I underline the word, and write the definition in the margin. I would also write that same word on an empty page in the front of the book together with its definition. This exercise forced me to look up words in a dictionary.
I was shocked at how many words that I thought I knew but was wrong. The benefit of all this, helped my understanding of what an author intended. Since I started this discipline, I find my vocabulary has been bolstered significantly.
However, while reading Donald’s book, I came across 67 words that were of the category as mentioned above.
Here are 13 words that I share with you:
- Acrimonious – full of bitterness, sarcasm, caustic, sharp.
- Internecine – destructive to both sides, mutually deadly, involving great slaughter.
- Orotund – full, clear, rounded and resonant – well tuned speech.
- Dithyramb – highly emotional, rhapsodical speech.
- Ament – a mentally deficient person, an idiot.
- Perfunctory – going through the motions merely for the sake of getting through.
- Probity – virtue or integrity tested and confirmed, strict honesty.
- Specious – pleasing or attractive, but deceptive; beguiling but lacking in sincerity
- Cavil – raising trivial objection, to find fault, to argue.
- Bibulous – taking to drinking.
- Imbroglio – a confusing state of affairs, complicated misunderstandings.
- Stultify – cause to appear absurd, given the appearance of foolishness.
For those of you who knew their meanings, my hats off to you!
My purpose here is to ask this question: “How many of you look up words that are unfamiliar to you?”
If you are a writer, finding the right word is imperative for producing the dialogue, scene, or setting you want to convey. As a reader, you must trust the author’s use of words. It is in this relationship both can achieve the fullest satisfaction in reading.
I realize that looking up words takes time and that takes away from what you have been concentration on. In other words, it can reduce your flow. However, consider the trade-off: breaking concentration but gaining a better understanding of the text.
I have found it worth it.
Please share your view.
Attila B. Horvath, author of “The Journey, what I wish I knew before I hit 21”.
attilahorvath.net