This Blog's Reading Level: Why a Bit Lower is Better

China Economics Blog finds that it’s reading level is quite high. In fact, according to this automated rating site, you’d have to be a “genius” to understand their work. I don’t know how these ratings are generated, but I did get a little curious about how bright (or educated) someone’s algorithm thinks you should be to read Transpacifica.

This site is written with the goal of being useful both for casual readers with little Asia background and for people with Ph.D.’s and careers in Asia scholarship. This means that sometimes I consciously use simple language where longer words could do the job. It also means I identify people like Fukuda Yasuo in every post, in case a reader doesn’t know he’s Japan’s prime minister. That said, I suppose I’m glad if this blog is at a lower reading level.

The writer of China Economics Blog considers what that blog’s genius rating means.

The implications are as follows:1. Only clever people read this blog (is that so bad?)2. I could get more readers if I simplified the language (is that so good?)

My take: If only clever people read your blog, that’s not so bad, but if you can write more simply and make your material helpful to more readers, that’s great! Of course the ratings are just for fun. I don’t think CEB is especially tough to read, and I’m pretty sure I’d have noticed by now if I were a genius.