72 Matching Annotations
  1. Jun 2024
    1. on reasonable uses of "disprefer" — it's probably true that its meaning is not immediately apparent, and using it when addressing general audiences probably avoided (dispreferred?), but of course, it depends on the context I think. It is a term that has an obvious jargon aspect, but that doesn't seem to me to make it uniformly verboten. Other, DNA would never have entered the popular lexicon, or quantum… I'm sure those parallels are inapt in several ways, but my point, which I think still stands, is that while clarity to the broadest audience possible is often a laudable goal, this also doesn't mean it should be the only or always the chief goal. It seems to me technical words get disseminated and incorporated popularly through their use outside of strictly technical fora, and while several people said they did a double take or didn't immediately understand the word (or misunderstood its meaning), it's also true that this can happen with perfectly reasonable, standard vernacular constructions, especially reasonable standard constructions that are expressing a counter-intuitive (even if true) claim. Just sayin' — "can people understand this without giving it but a moment's thought" is a high (or ultra-low) car to hold all non-technical communication to. (That said, I also have a love for arcane words, shades of meaning, and being able to express certain moods/valences/concepts precisely. THAT said, I'm no linguist, and probably won't be using this word commonly for all my talk.)
    2. The main problem with disprefer is that it violates de Buitléir's rule: If *I* use a word you're not familiar with, your education or experience is lacking. If *you* use a word I'm not familiar with, you're being a show-off or making up words.
  2. Dec 2023
  3. Nov 2023
  4. Oct 2023
  5. Feb 2023
    1. If the jargon points to a coherent phenomenon, it can be very useful.

      When jargon or argot points to "coherent phenomenon" or provides a taxonomic purpose, it can be useful beyond its alternate function of gatekeeping areas of thought.

  6. Jan 2023
  7. Apr 2022
    1. I previously shared Ivo Velitchkov’s 5-part series in Letter XXXII where he described in more detail his approach, and how he developed RIO (Roam Internal Ontology). Now, he has released the two ontologies he's developed (RIO and ROCO - ROam Core Ontology)

      It really kills me to see these types of jargon and acronyms popping up in the technology space around note taking. What do these really mean? Why should the average user care? It all feels like the sort of careless marketing and buzzwords like "second brain" or "MOC" (maps of content).

  8. Jan 2022
    1. When you run SIPs through a market upswing, your costs are in fact moving up as you’re investing at steadily higher levels. Longer the rally, the more your cost trends upwards and the more you need a correction to lower costs.
      • ...Does it mean my SIP investing during upswing market and correcting at downsing through correction
      • long market downturn to average
  9. Apr 2021
    1. Valleyspeak

      "Spaces" is not an official entry here, but svdictionary is a good resource for all sorts of technical jargon common in the valley, and the site itself gives plenty of insight into the internal culture at these companies. Interested readers will also appreciate this guardian article from 2019 which covers a bunch of commonly used silicon valley terms.

  10. Mar 2021
    1. When bullshit is legitimized and codified, itspreads more easily and is likely to be moreinfluential. This in turn fosters the future produc-tion of more bullshit.
    1. When I first read about the IndieWeb it felt like a lot. I've written about this before, but the sheer weight of jargon in the space is frankly terrifying.

      How can the community do better at lowering this bar?

      There are many things people are used to doing online and there's at least a common visual grammar for that. A parallel may be for the grammar of movies and television. Everyone knows and feels a smash cut when they see it, but many may not know the word for it. Which bits of jargon are necessary and which are unnecessary?

      Example: There are many sub versions of the idea of syndication. Syndication in and out, which is relatively simple, but we've got half a dozen bits of jargon depending on one's perspective and what the sources and targets are. These are helpful for those of us who specialize and study the space, but are dreadful for the every day user who will use words like cross-post or syndicate instead. While the reframing to prioritize syndicating out from one's site is useful, perhaps it's easier to say that in more words and not with all the other subtleties.

  11. Feb 2021
    1. When faced with ‘jargonese,’ often people assumethat they are missing something, or they confusevagueness for profundity. The rule holds however,that if it is not possible to understand what thewords in a statement mean, then it is reasonableto suspect the statement to be bullshit.
    2. The cornerstone to recognising bullshit isknowing how it masquerades. This involves recog-nizing how colleagues go about framing statements(in written, spoken, or graphical form) that arewithout regard for the truth. Typically, suchstatements are abstract and general in nature andcome across as the opposite of plain English. Thestatements will lack details, sources, and logic,and they will be full of logical disconnects andgaps. Furthermore, if a statement is riddled withmeaningless language, acronyms, buzzwords, andjargon, then it is likely to be bullshit.
    3. The bullshitter makes adecision to further that agenda through commu-nicative acts and decides on a message and amedium that will help them to achieve thatagenda. Crucially, while doing so, they disregardthe truth, in the sense that they are not concernedwith the truth, inaccuracy, or falseness of theirmessage but only in its efficaciousness in promot-ing the desired agenda
    4. when we engagein work, we must distinguish between this type ofsocial bullshit, which can be harmless or evenhelpful to the organization (because it can enablethe development of normal interpersonal re-lationships), and other types of bullshit that canhave damaging impacts on the organization.

      This points out the difference between personal bullshit and work bullshit; the later may help at times, but largely, corporate bullshit is anti-intellectual and damages the workplace.

    5. the more often colleagues at work are asked tocomment on matters about which they know littleor nothing, the more bullshit there is
    6. Bullshit has become socommonplace that it is suggested that businesscommunications are dominated bytruthiness(inwhich the validity of something is based on how itfeels),post-factlanguage (taking a position thatignores facts), andecho chambers(where positive-feedback loops create cravings for and fuel thespread of bullshit
    7. Marketing bullshit(a.k.a. puffery)Exaggerated or false claims by marketersthat amplify the features and performanceof a product or service (Chakraborty &Harbaugh, 2014).In 2000, a court ruled that ads from the PapaJohn’s pizza company stating “Betteringredients. Better Pizza” could not beverified as fact and should be deemedpuffery
    8. Jargon bullshit Words or expressions used by a particularprofession or group to make something seemlegitimate and enticing, while also muddlinglanguage and thinking (Poole, 2013; Spicer,2017).
    1. Technical authors still also use the uncapitalized form in singular and plural (internets) forms to describe the interconnection of multiple individual networks.
    1. The final dimension,bullshit language,considers some of the commonly usedtypes of language employed by bullshitters, namely the excessive use of acro-nyms and jargon. The finding that employees perceive that the excessive use ofsuch language is a form of bullshit confirms that they are not oblivious to its usein the workplace. They may share the opinion of McCarthy et al. (2020, p. 258),who argued that “if a statement is riddled with meaningless language, acronyms,buzzwords, and jargon, then it is likely to be bullshit.” It is possible that theexcessive use of acronyms and jargon may occur to employees as an exclusion-ary mechanism in the workplace, whereby those unfamiliar with the terminologymay not be able to meaningfully contribute to the conversation or voice theirconcerns.
  12. Nov 2020
  13. Oct 2020
    1. first sighting: use of superscripts like this

      I like it. Nice and concise and understandable.

      • s¹  critical
      • s²  important
      • s³  nice to have
      • s⁴  low
      • s⁵  inconvenient

      But in other cases, the abbreviation is quite unclear and ambiguity:

      Like, what does "pr" mean in these cases?

      priority? Doubt it.

      • pr¹  chore
      • pr²  docs
      • pr³  feature
      • pr⁴  fix
      • pr⁵  performance
      • pr⁶  refactor
      • pr⁷  style

      Pull Request? Doubt it. But maybe?


      For axes that are quantifiable, like severity, using a number makes sense. But what benefit is there in including a number in these (platform?) labels?:

      • p¹ ⋅ browser
      • p² ⋅ linux
      • p³ ⋅ mac
      • p⁴ ⋅ windows

      I think this would have been better and clearer (in that fewer people would be like huh? and wonder what it means):

      • platform: browser
      • platform: linux
      • platform: mac
      • platform: windows
  14. Sep 2020
  15. Jun 2020
  16. Apr 2020
    1. In mathematical jargon, one says that two objects are the same up to an isomorphism.
    1. On the other hand, in business jargon, it is sometimes used to refer to the resources needed to complete a task or project. Clear language is important for clear communication. So it may be better to avoid jargon if you are not sure they will understand you.
    2. As you indicate, it will be misunderstood in some quarters, which might be a good reason for avoiding it.
    1. it is jargon, and to the extent that people cannot decode it, it conceals what is actually going on;
  17. Dec 2019
    1. Think STACK (Spiral-Staircased Territories Abstracting Constructionist Knowledge), not MECE (Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive).
  18. Jun 2019
    1. Computer Revolution

      Computer Revolution also called "Digital Revolution" refers to where the technology is very popular and its used by people around the world.

  19. May 2019
  20. www.environmentandsociety.org www.environmentandsociety.org
    1. Before the energy of environmental historians can reach the public, the obstacles to transmission posed by jargon, obscurity, and an inward-looking orientation toward historiography must be removed

      This is a better statement of this than McNeill's recent post in the AHA blog.

  21. Jul 2017
  22. Jan 2017
  23. Feb 2014
    1. What intrigued me when I first walked into Neil’s living room was the concept of a collaboration- driven ethos , although at the time I had no idea what those words mean

      collaboration-driven ethos

    2. coming together to share an ethos : the combined set of beliefs, customs, and sentiment that flows between like-minded people.

      Collaboration-driven ethos: the combined set of beliefs, customs, and sentiment that flows between like-minded people.

  24. legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com
    1. Res [Latin, A thing.] An object, a subject matter, or a status against which legal proceedings have been instituted. For example, in a suit involving a captured ship, the seized vessel is the res, and proceedings of this nature are said to be in rem. Res, however, does not always refer to tangible Personal Property. In matrimonial actions, for example, the res is the marital status of the parties.

      Latin for: a thing

      An object, a subject matter, or a status against which legal proceedings have been instituted.

    2. res (rayz) n. Latin, thing. In law lingo res is used in conjunction with other Latin words as "thing that."
    1. Citators- A set of books and online sources that provide the subsequent judicial history and interpretation of reported cases or lists of cases and legislative enactments construing, applying, or affecting statutes. In America, the most widely used citators are Shepard's citations and Keycite.

      Definition of citators.

    1. Citation signals The citation signal appearing next to a case name indicates whether the decision has received positive, negative, cautionary or neutral treatment in subsequent judgments. The signal is a summary of the annotation information available from the list of appeal proceedings and cases referring to this case. Clicking on these signals will take you to the citation entry for these decisions. Hover your mouse over the symbol for a description.

      Citation signals regarding future case judgments from citators:

      • Negative Treatment
      • Cautionary Treatment
      • Positive Treatment
      • Neutral History or Treatment
      • Citator Information
    1. Disposition : The dispo sition usua lly a ppears a t t he en d of the ma in opinion, and tells you what action the court is taking with the case. For example, an appeals court ma y affirm the lower court decision , upholding it; or it ma y reverse the decision, overturning it, and remand the case, sendi ng i t back to th e lower c ourt for further procee dings. F or now, y ou should k eep in mind that when a higher court affirms it means that the lower court had it right (in result, if not in reasoning). Words like reverse , remand , and vacate means that the higher court though the lower court had it wrong

      Keywords:

      • affirm
      • reverse
      • remand
      • vacate
    1. Dicta Dicta refers to anything that isn't relevant to the case's holding. Often judges will use a case to expound upon their theories of the law. The theories may not be relevant to the case at hand, but it gives the judge a chance to give direction to the lower courts by putting the theory in writing. Dicta does not carry weight as a precedent. But it's useful to note how the court might have ruled given a different set of circumstances.

      dicta refers to anything that isn't relevant to the case's holding.

    1. Identify the relationship/status of the parties (Note: Do not merely refer to the parties as the plai ntiff/defendant or appellant/appellee; be sure to also include more descr iptive generic terms to identify the relationship/status at issue, e.g., buyer/seller, employer/employee, landlord/tenant, etc.)

      Identify the factual relationship of the parties, not just the procedural relationship.

      Examples of procedural:

      • plaintiff/defendant
      • appellant/appellee

      Examples of factual:

      • buyer/seller
      • employer/employee
      • landlord/tenant
    2. nctions A. A case brief is a dissection of a judici al opinion -- it contains a written summary of the basic components of that decision. B. Persuasive briefs (trial and appella te) are the formal documents a lawyer files with a court in support of his or her client’s position

      Distinctions

    1. C e n s u s t a k e r s , f o r e x a m p l e , d o n o t " c r e a t e " t h e p o p u l a t i o n f i g u r e s t h a t e m e r g e f r o m t h e i r e f f o r t s ; i n a s e n s e , t h e y c o p y t h e s e f i g u r e s f r o m t h e w o r l d a r o u n d t h e m . D e n i c o l a , C o p y r i g h t i n C o l l e c t i o n s o f F a c t s : A T h e o r y f o r t h e P r o t e c t i o n o f N o n f i c t i o n L i t e r a r y W o r k s , 8 1 C o l u m . L . R e v . 5 1 6 , 5 2 5 ( 1 9 8 1 ) ( h e r e i n a f t e r D e n i c o l a ) . C e n s u s d a t a t h e r e f o r e d o n o t t r i g g e r c o p y r i g h t b e c a u s e t h e s e d a t a a r e n o t " o r i g i n a l " i n t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l s e n s e . N i m m e r § 2 . 0 3 [ E ] . T h e s a m e i s t r u e o f a l l f a c t s — s c i e n t i f i c , h i s t o r i c a l , b i o g r a p h i c a l , a n d n e w s o f t h e d a y . " [ T ] h e y m a y n o t b e c o p y r i g h t e d a n d a r e p a r t o f t h e p u b l i c d o m a i n a v a i l a b l e t o e v e r y p e r s o n . " M i l l e r , s u p r a , a t 1 3 6 9 .

      Census takers do not create; they merely copy the figured from the world around them. All facts-- scientific, historical, biographical, and news of the day-- may not be copyrighted and are part of the public domain.

    2. I t i s t h i s b e d r o c k p r i n c i p l e o f c o p y r i g h t t h a t m a n d a t e s t h e l a w ' s s e e m i n g l y d i s p a r a t e t r e a t m e n t o f f a c t s a n d f a c t u a l c o m p i l a t i o n s . " N o o n e m a y c l a i m o r i g i n a l i t y a s t o f a c t s . " I d . , § 2 . 1 1 [ A ] , p . 2 - 1 5 7 . T h i s i s b e c a u s e f a c t s d o n o t o w e t h e i r o r i g i n t o a n a c t o f a u t h o r s h i p . T h e d i s t i n c t i o n i s o n e b e t w e e n c r e a t i o n a n d d i s c o v e r y : T h e f i r s t p e r s o n t o f i n d a n d r e p o r t a p a r t i c u l a r f a c t h a s n o t c r e a t e d t h e f a c t ; h e o r s h e h a s m e r e l y d i s c o v e r e d i t s e x i s t e n c e . T o b o r r o w f r o m B u r r o w - G i l e s , o n e w h o d i s c o v e r s a f a c t i s n o t i t s " m a k e r " o r " o r i g i n a t o r . " 1 1 1 U . S . , a t 5 8 . " T h e d i s c o v e r e r m e r e l y f i n d s a n d r e c o r d s . " N i m m e r § 2 . 0 3 [ E ] .

      No one may claim originality to facts because facts do not owe their origin to an act of authorship. The distinction is one between creation vs discovery.

    3. I n B u r r o w - G i l e s , t h e C o u r t d i s t i l l e d t h e s a m e r e q u i r e m e n t f r o m t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n ' s u s e o f t h e w o r d " a u t h o r s . " T h e C o u r t d e f i n e d " a u t h o r , " i n a c o n s t i t u t i o n a l s e n s e , t o m e a n " h e t o w h o m a n y t h i n g o w e s i t s o r i g i n ; o r i g i n a t o r ; m a k e r . " 1 1 1 U . S . , a t 5 8 ( i n t e r n a l q u o t a t i o n m a r k s o m i t t e d ) . A s i n T h e T r a d e - M a r k C a s e s , t h e C o u r t e m p h a s i z e d t h e c r e a t i v e c o m p o n e n t o f o r i g i n a l i t y . I t d e s c r i b e d c o p y r i g h t a s b e i n g l i m i t e d t o " o r i g i n a l i n t e l l e c t u a l c o n c e p t i o n s o f t h e a u t h o r , " 1 1 1 U . S . , a t 5 8 , a n d s t r e s s e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f r e q u i r i n g a n a u t h o r w h o a c c u s e s a n o t h e r o f i n f r i n g e m e n t t o p r o v e " t h e e x i s t e n c e o f t h o s e f a c t s o f o r i g i n a l i t y , o f i n t e l l e c t u a l p r o d u c t i o n , o f t h o u g h t , a n d c o n c e p t i o n . " I d . , a t 5 9 - 6 0 .

      In Burrow-Giles the court defined authors, in a constitutional sense, to mean "he to whom anything owes its origin, originator, maker" and emphasized the creative component of originality.

    4. I n T h e T r a d e - M a r k C a s e s , t h e C o u r t a d d r e s s e d t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l s c o p e o f " w r i t i n g s . " F o r a p a r t i c u l a r w o r k t o b e c l a s s i f i e d " u n d e r t h e h e a d o f w r i t i n g s o f a u t h o r s , " t h e C o u r t d e t e r m i n e d , " o r i g i n a l i t y i s r e q u i r e d . " 1 0 0 U . S . , a t 9 4 . T h e C o u r t e x p l a i n e d t h a t o r i g i n a l i t y r e q u i r e s i n d e p e n d e n t c r e a t i o n p l u s a m o d i c u m o f c r e a t i v i t y : " [ W ] h i l e t h e w o r d w r i t i n g s m a y b e l i b e r a l l y c o n s t r u e d , a s i t h a s b e e n , t o i n c l u d e o r i g i n a l d e s i g n s f o r e n g r a v i n g , p r i n t s , & c . , i t i s o n l y s u c h a s a r e o r i g i n a l , a n d a r e f o u n d e d i n t h e c r e a t i v e p o w e r s o f t h e m i n d . T h e w r i t i n g s w h i c h a r e t o b e p r o t e c t e d a r e t h e f r u i t s o f i n t e l l e c t u a l l a b o r , e m b o d i e d i n t h e f o r m o f b o o k s , p r i n t s , e n g r a v i n g s , a n d t h e l i k e . " I b i d . ( e m p h a s i s i n o r i g i n a l ) .

      In The Trade-Mark Cases the Court addressed the constitutional scope of writings saying for a particular work to be classified "under the head of writings of authors," the Court determined, "originality is required"; independent creation plus a modicum of creativity.

    5. O r i g i n a l i t y i s a c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e q u i r e m e n t . T h e s o u r c e o f C o n g r e s s ' p o w e r t o e n a c t c o p y r i g h t l a w s i s A r t i c l e I , § 8 , c l . 8 , o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n , w h i c h a u t h o r i z e s C o n g r e s s t o " s e c u r [ e ] f o r l i m i t e d T i m e s t o A u t h o r s . . . t h e e x c l u s i v e R i g h t t o t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e W r i t i n g s . " I n t w o d e c i s i o n s f r o m t h e l a t e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y — T h e T r a d e - M a r k C a s e s , 1 0 0 U . S . 8 2 ( 1 8 7 9 ) ; a n d B u r r o w - G i l e s L i t h o g r a p h i c C o . v . S a r o n y , 1 1 1 U . S . 5 3 ( 1 8 8 4 ) — t h i s C o u r t d e f i n e d t h e c r u c i a l t e r m s " a u t h o r s " a n d " w r i t i n g s . " I n s o d o i n g , t h e C o u r t m a d e i t u n m i s t a k a b l y c l e a r t h a t t h e s e t e r m s p r e s u p p o s e a d e g r e e o f o r i g i n a l i t y .

      This Court defined the crucial terms authors and writings.

    6. T h e k e y t o r e s o l v i n g t h e t e n s i o n l i e s i n u n d e r s t a n d i n g w h y f a c t s a r e n o t c o p y r i g h t a b l e . T h e s i n e q u a n o n o f c o p y r i g h t i s o r i g i n a l i t y . T o q u a l i f y f o r c o p y r i g h t p r o t e c t i o n , a w o r k m u s t b e o r i g i n a l t o t h e a u t h o r . S e e H a r p e r & R o w , s u p r a , a t 5 4 7 - 5 4 9 . O r i g i n a l , a s t h e t e r m i s u s e d i n c o p y r i g h t , m e a n s o n l y t h a t t h e w o r k w a s i n d e p e n d e n t l y c r e a t e d b y t h e a u t h o r ( a s o p p o s e d t o c o p i e d f r o m o t h e r w o r k s ) , a n d t h a t i t p o s s e s s e s a t l e a s t s o m e m i n i m a l d e g r e e o f c r e a t i v i t y . 1 M . N i m m e r & D . N i m m e r , C o p y r i g h t § § 2 . 0 1 [ A ] , [ B ] ( 1 9 9 0 ) ( h e r e i n a f t e r N i m m e r ) . T o b e s u r e , t h e r e q u i s i t e l e v e l o f c r e a t i v i t y i s e x t r e m e l y l o w ; e v e n a s l i g h t a m o u n t w i l l s u f f i c e . T h e v a s t m a j o r i t y o f w o r k s m a k e t h e g r a d e q u i t e e a s i l y , a s t h e y p o s s e s s s o m e c r e a t i v e s p a r k , " n o m a t t e r h o w c r u d e , h u m b l e o r o b v i o u s " i t m i g h t b e . I d . , § 1 . 0 8 [ C ] [ 1 ] .

      The sine qua non of copyright is originality.

  25. Jan 2014
    1. In addition, the results imply that there is a lack of awareness about the importance of metadata among the scientific community –at least in practice– which is a serious problem as their involvement is quite crucial in dealing with problems regarding data management.

      Is there any reasonable agreement about what the term metadata means or includes? For example, how important is the unit of measure to scientists (feet vs meters) and is that information considered metadata or simply an implied part inherent in the data itself?

    1. The Data Life Cycle: An Overview The data life cycle has eight components: Plan : description of the data that will be compiled, and how the data will be managed and made accessible throughout its lifetime Collect : observations are made either by hand or with sensors or other instruments and the data are placed a into digital form Assure : the quality of the data are assured through checks and inspections Describe : data are accurately and thoroughly described using the appropriate metadata standards Preserve : data are submitted to an appropriate long-term archive (i.e. data center ) Discover : potentially useful data are located and obtained, along with the relevant information about the data ( metadata ) Integrate : data from disparate sources are combined to form one homogeneous set of data that can be readily analyzed Analyze : data are analyzed

      The lifecycle according to who? This 8-component description is from the point of view of only the people who obsessively think about this "problem".

      Ask a researcher and I think you'll hear that lifecycle means something like:

      collect -> analyze -> publish
      

      or a more complex data management plan might be:

      ask someone -> receive data in email -> analyze -> cite -> publish -> tenure
      

      To most people lifecycle means "while I am using the data" and archiving means "my storage guy makes backups occasionally".

      Asking people to be aware of the whole cycle outlined here is a non-starter, but I think there is another approach to achieve what we want... dramatic pause [to be continued]

      What parts of this cycle should the individual be responsible for vs which parts are places where help is needed from the institution?

    2. An effective data management program would enable a user 20 years or longer in the future to discover , access , understand, and use particular data [ 3 ]. This primer summarizes the elements of a data management program that would satisfy this 20-year rule and are necessary to prevent data entropy .

      Who cares most about the 20-year rule? This is an ideal that appeals to some, but in practice even the most zealous adherents can't picture what this looks like in some concrete way-- except in the most traditional ways: physical paper journals in libraries are tangible examples of the 20-year rule.

      Until we have a digital equivalent for data I don't blame people looking for tenure or jobs for not caring about this ideal if we can't provide a clear picture of how to achieve this widely at an institutional level. For digital materials I think the picture people have in their minds is of tape backup. Maybe this is generational? New generations not exposed widely to cassette tapes, DVDs, and other physical media that "old people" remember, only then will it be possible to have a new ideal that people can see in their minds-eye.

    3. A key component of data management is the comprehensive description of the data and contextual information that future researchers need to understand and use the data. This description is particularly important because the natural tendency is for the information content of a data set or database to undergo entropy over time (i.e. data entropy ), ultimately becoming meaningless to scientists and others [ 2 ].

      I agree with the key component mentioned here, but I feel the term data entropy is an unhelpful crutch.

    4. data entropy Normal degradation in information content associated with data and metadata over time (paraphrased from [ 2 ]).

      I'm not sure what this really means and I don't think data entropy is a helpful term. Poor practices certainly lead to disorganized collections of data, but I think this notion comes from a time when people were very concerned about degradation of physical media on which data is stored. That is, of course, still a concern, but I think the term data entropy really lends itself as an excuse for people who don't use good practices to manage data and is a cover for the real problem which is a kind of data illiteracy in much the same way we also face computational illiteracy widely in the sciences. Managing data really is hard, but let's not mask it with fanciful notions like data entropy.

    1. When a law student briefs a case, he typically identifies several pieces of information: the parties, the procedural posture, the facts, the issue , the h olding, and the analysis. Although it seems foreign at first, identifying this information, understanding judicial opinions , and applying their reasoning to new cases becomes much easier with practice.

      The legal brief described here is a student brief, not to be confused with an appellate brief; the distinction is described in more detail in How To Brief a Case.

    2. the judge will state the legal issue(s) involved, her decision about the issue s (the holding) , and her reasoning.

      the holding is a part of a judicial opinion that states the decision about the legal issues involved in a case.

    3. The opinion will also typically give the name of the judge or justice who wrote it. In some cases, judges sitting together will decide not to reveal wh o wrote an opinion. In that situation, it will say p e r c u r i a m /DWLQIRU³E\WKHFRXUW ́ ) i QSODFHRIDMXGJH¶VQDPH

      The garbled text quoted here should be:

      it will say per curiam (Latin for "by the court") in place of a judge's name.

    1. Student brief A student brief is a short summary and analysis of the case prepared for use in classroom discussion. It is a set of notes, presented in a systematic way, in order to sort out the parties, identify the issues, ascertain what was decided, and analyze the reasoning behind decisions made by the courts. Although student briefs always include the same items of information, the form in which these items are set out can vary. Before committing yourself to a particular form for briefing cases, check with your instructor to ensure that the form you have chosen is acceptable.
    2. Appellate brief An appellate brief is a written legal argument presented to an appellate court. Its purpose is to persuade the higher court to uphold or reverse the trial court’s decision. Briefs of this kind are therefore geared to presenting the issues involved in the case from the perspective of one side only. Appellate briefs from both sides can be very valuable to anyone assessing the legal issues raised in a case. Unfortunately, they are rarely published. The U.S. Supreme Court is the only court for which briefs are regularly available in published form. The Landmark Briefs series (REF. LAW KF 101.9 .K8) includes the full texts of briefs relating to a very few of the many cases heard by this court. In addition, summaries of the briefs filed on behalf of the plaintiff or defendant for all cases reported are included in the U.S. Supreme Court Reports. Lawyer’s Ed., 2nd. series (REF. LAW KF 101 .A42).
    3. Confusion often arises over the term “legal brief.” There are at least two different senses in which the term is used.

      Two different sense of the term legal brief are described here: appellate brief and student brief.