[HdS84]

I've studied political science in Germany. Unfortunately, most German political science people confused opaque writing with wisdom - basically hiding invalid theory behind an obtuse language. Nobody wanted to say out loud that they don't understand the language, so it helped to fortify their shit theories.

[aleph_minus_one]

While there is a lot of bullshit hidden behind obtuse language, I would claim that in Germany there is a very different culture around what is a "good, clear academic text".

When I see HN discussions, in the USA, it seems to be that simple, clear explanations are something to be cherished. On the other hand, in Germany, the academic ideal is to use terms that describe things as precisely and exactly as possible.

In other words:

- in the USA "clarity" means "describing things as simple and "understandable" (for less educated people) as possible".

- In Germany (in particular humanities academia) "clarity" means "describing things in the most precise ('clear' in the sense of 'minimal risk of misunderstanding') terms as possible. You may assume that the reader is either sufficiently educated to know these specialist terms or take a serious effort to learn them".

Thus, the expectations what "clarity" means in academic texts are very different between these countries.