Give us the Scaffolding [B]or[/B] Is Modern Mathematics more Obscure than it need be?

[studiot]

This question (placed in general Philosophy for a wide discussion base) was inspired by the writings of Professor Ian Stewart.

Here are his actual words

 

So give us the scaffolding.

 

Edited November 18, 2018 by studiot

[John Cuthber]

Space in journals is limited.
Space on-line is almost free.

Could journals publish a "fully annotated" version of their articles on the web?

I rather suspect that you would need a lot of (virtual) paper to explain anything published in today's maths journals in such a way that "the man in the street" could follow it. and, if you did so, I think the audience would be practically nil. so I guess you are only expecting enough scaffold for those who already know a lot.
Where do you draw the line?

 

[Strange]

In the past, I gather there was reluctance to publish methods because there was competition for support from wealthy patrons. So mathematicians felt they had to produce exciting results without giving away too much about how they got there.

Is this obscurity restricted to mathematics? There seems to be a general resistance to plain English in academic writing - from some reviewers, publishers and even readers. 

"It was determined from the research protocols outlined outlined in this paper that ..." = "We found ..."

Some people feel that it doesn't sound"serious" enough unless it is hard to read.

(Disclaimer: I am not an academic, but I have heard this from lots of researchers and editors)

[StringJunky]

I always thought the jargon was necessary in papers to to keep them as physically compact as possible. I would imagine, in general, any particular novel research is too specialized for the lay reader anyway, so converting it into everyman language is a waste.

[studiot]

4 hours ago, Strange said:

Is this obscurity restricted to mathematics?

Too many confuse pomposity for formality, and not just in academia.

Dear Mr Jones, "I am writing in regard to your written communication of the 4th instant"