# Does a verbose writing style indicate lower intelligence? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 16, 2017, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-verbose-writing-style-indicate-lower-intelligence/786795 "2017-05-16T22:51:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-verbose-writing-style-indicate-lower-intelligence/786795/21 "2017-05-17T12:30:48Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Mere verbosity is not enough to determine anything. There are unintelligent sounding speakings styles that are quite verbose, yes. But there are others that are quite terse. > > If anything, I’d argue a slight tendency the other way. Complex writing tends to be more verbose, and people who write in complex ways generally think in them, too. … Completely agree. Sometimes concise writing, especially if that concise writing includes no sentence complexity whatsoever, is intentional for clarity, but perhaps even more often it is due to paucity of thought. Just as sometimes complex writing is due to the complexity of the ideas and sometimes it is due to an attempt to use the writing style as a substitute for meaningful content or due to lack of writing skill. As an isolated marker it is not of much value. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-verbose-writing-style-indicate-lower-intelligence/786795/22 "2017-05-17T12:43:02Z")
If it does, then everyone before the mid-1800s was really stupid. Writing styles change with time. Mark Twain famously railed against James Fenimore Cooper’s verbosity in at least two different essays. I was struck upon listening to an audio recording of Edgar Allen Poe (after comparing to his written original) how pared down it was, and yet STILL sounded verbose. Ceremonial speeches from before 1800 are labyrinths of layered phrases that a modern orator would take a scythe to. So, by itself, I don’t think that a verbose style indicates low intelligence. Whether in the context of a given time verbosity is an indicator of intelligence, I don’t know. I doubt it. I’ve read some long and complex sentences that I thought were beautifully phrased. He’s not my cup of tea, but Henry James wrote famously (or notoriously) long and complex sentences, and I’ve never heard him called unintelligent. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-verbose-writing-style-indicate-lower-intelligence/786795/23 "2017-05-17T12:45:24Z")
If a verbose writing style indictes lower intelligence, I guess I shouldn’t send in that Mensa application :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-verbose-writing-style-indicate-lower-intelligence/786795.md?page=1)