On 2 September Michael Sylvester wrote:
It is my understanding that brevity is the hallmark
of good scientific writing and enterprises.
Perhaps the best response to that would be along the lines of one that
Mozart supposedly gave to Emperor Josef II when the latter said of one
of his works that it contained "an awful lot of notes, dear Mozart":
"No more notes than necessary, Your Majesty!"
From my own experience, both personally and from observations of the
writings of others, it is only too evident that an erroneous assertion
made (briefly!) in one sentence or short paragraph may require several
detailed paragraphs to refute comprehensively.
Allen Esterson
Former lecturer, Science Department
Southwark College, London
http://www.esterson.org
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