Professional jargon that confuses more than it clarifies. Writing that sounds impressive while saying nothing. The term bafflegab was coined in 1952 by Milton A. Smith, assistant general counsel for the American Chamber of Commerce. He won a prize for the word and its definition: “multiloquence characterized by a consummate interfusion of circumlocution and other familiar manifestations of abstruse expatiation commonly utilized for promulgations implementing procrustean determinations by governmental bodies.” Consultants and academics also use bafflegab. Armstrong (1980a) showed that academics regard journals that are difficult to read as more prestigious than those that are easy to read. The paper also provided evidence that academics rated authors as more competent when their papers were rewritten to make them harder to understand. Researchers in forecasting are not immune to this affliction. <o:p></o:p></P>
<ul>
  <li>Armstrong, J. S. (1980a), “Unintelligible management 
research and academic prestige,” <I>Interfaces</I>, 10, No. 2, 80-86. (<a target="_blank" href="../../paperpdf/unintelligible.pdf">Full 
text</a>)</li>
</ul>