> Why use many word when few word do trick?
replyBe concise.
OR
OR
etc."Omit needless words."
reply-- William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White., The Elements of Style
What I find funny about "why use many word when few word do trick?" is that it's only slightly shorter than the regular "why use many words when few words do the trick?"
replyI always figured that was part of the joke, because a writer came up with it, and a writer would know (I assume?).
replyOptimization on a idiosyncrasy. The same thing that makes Claude repeat "That was the most important thing you said in this whole conversation" is what makes grug speak optimize on token usage.
replyReal humans get non-primary information from word variation. It's reasonable to hypothesize that it has a role in thinking things, because it endures. Our languages need to breathe over time, and flourishing might be one of the aspects that allows that breathing space.