The Speculist

Research backs up the Speculist approach (really, pretty much the entire blogosphere approach):

Many fledgling writers have been taught the mnemonic KISS: Keep it simple, stupid. A new study backs the wisdom of that advice.

Long words used needlessly along with complicated font styles -- two tactics employed routinely by students trying to pad their work -- are perceived as coming from less intelligent writers.

Mark Twain once wrote in a letter to his sister: "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead."

It's the same basic idea. Adding complexity to a message doesn't necessarily enhance the complexity of the idea presented. And even when it does, it doesn't necessarily enhance that complexity in a meaningful way. So the value of communication goes up when we convey more information using fewer words and/or syllables.

The obvious exception would be Steven Den Beste, but even he seems to have traded it in for a more concise format.

Of course, the end game is to be able to say it all with a simple "heh" or a well-placed "indeed." We aren't quite there yet.