It’s Not The Size That Matters

2

October 11, 2014 by JImbo

I was reading the background on a game I just bought that is set in a desert. In describing the background, they used the phrases “peripatetic culture” and “autochthonous society” in the FIRST SENTENCE!

How the hell are kids supposed to know those words? Hell, even I had to look them up and I used to read the encyclopedia before bedtime as a kid.

For the record, “peripatetic” just means “nomadic” in a nutshell. Why they couldn’t just say that I have no clue. “Autochthonous” just means “native.”

What the hell is wrong with these people? They do realize this is a game instruction manual and not a doctoral dissertation right? Having a voluminous vocabulary is indeed a beneficial cerebral asset, but what…the…hell?

You could just say something like “The nomads travel around the desert, taking bits of culture from the native people of the settlements they trade with?”

I guess those are your vocabulary words for the day folks. Good luck using them in everyday conversation. Also expect to get your butt kicked a lot. Especially if you wear glasses.

I’m just sayin’. Having the right word for the job is a handy thing. It helps in communication. There is no way these game designers just used those words off the top of their head. They looked it up in a thesaurus to sound smart.

Using superfluous words just to show off your brain size is like grabbing your crotch to show off your package.

it’s annoying and we know it’s fake. Besides, it’s not the size of your vocabulary it’s how you use it that counts.