Even if it looks good, is it 'gibberish'? — A talk about the 'clarity' we truly need now —

In this article, we use the term 'human-understandability' to describe the quality that makes it easy for humans to grasp the meaning and structure of information.

The true nature of that 'Wait, this is hard to read' feeling everyone experiences

Have you ever had an experience like this while reading an article on the internet or looking at a manual? The design is beautiful. The text is well-formatted. There are many photos and diagrams. Yet, in the end, you don't understand what it's trying to say. Technical terms are lined up, and you can read each individual word. However, you cannot grasp what the text as a whole is explaining. Conversely, there are texts that, even if they don't look very sophisticated, make you think, 'I see. So that's what it meant,' and you can understand them surprisingly easily. This difference is not just about whether the design is good or bad. There are two different types of 'clarity' involved: * Being easy to follow with the eyes * Being easy to understand the content. In this article, we will organize this difference using the terms: * Human-readability * Human-understandability. In an era where AI will generate massive amounts of text and images, having a neat appearance is not enough. What will become truly important is whether you can properly reconstruct the structure of meaning inside a human's head.

1 | 'Readable' and 'Understandable' are not the same

Text is readable if the characters are visible. However, being readable and being understandable are not the same thing. For example, let's consider a legal contract. The characters are printed. The sentences are grammatically correct. The paragraphs and numbers are well-organized. Even so, many people cannot immediately understand: What obligations do I have? Where are the risks? What exactly am I agreeing to? This is not because the text is unreadable. It is readable, but the structure of the meaning is difficult to grasp. Conversely, even with difficult content, it becomes easier to understand if: * The conclusion is presented first * The premises are explained * There are concrete examples * Causal relationships are arranged in order * Technical terms are replaced with everyday language. In other words, information has at least two checkpoints: Passing through the eyes. Becoming meaning in the head. Human-readability relates to the first checkpoint. Human-understandability relates to the next checkpoint.

2 | Visual 'clarity' — Human-readability

Human-readability, simply put, is that it is easy for humans to follow with their eyes and continue reading. For example, the following elements are involved: * Font size * Font type * Line spacing * Margins * Color combinations * Line breaks * Paragraphs * Headings * Placement of diagrams and photos * Length of text. If the text is too small, reading becomes painful regardless of the content. If the line spacing is too tight, your eyes will wander. If the contrast between the background color and the text color is weak, it becomes difficult to recognize the characters. If a single paragraph is too long, you will lose track of where you were reading. Reducing these problems is what human-readability is about. However, readability is not just about being 'stylish'. Even with a beautiful design, if the text is hard to read, readability is low. Conversely, even with little decoration, if the font size and margins are appropriate, readability is high. In other words, readability is not a question of whether it looks beautiful, but whether it is arranged so as not to hinder the act of reading.

3 | Clarity that you 'understand' in your head — Human-understandability

Human-understandability is that it is easy for the human mind to understand the content and structure. What is emphasized here is not the appearance of the text. It is whether you can understand: * What is being explained * Why it happens that way * Where things connect * What is the cause and what is the result * What it means specifically * How it relates to you. For example, suppose a text says: 'This system will be implemented based on appropriate judgment, taking into account coordination with relevant departments, in order to enable comprehensive and flexible operation according to diverse situations.' You can read it as text. However, you hardly understand who decides what, when, and by what criteria. Even if you improve the appearance, this ambiguity does not disappear. On the other hand, if you write: 'Whether you can use this system is determined by the city office after checking the application details. Income, family structure, and current living conditions are used for the judgment,' the structure becomes visible. Human-understandability is not just about making the text use simple words. What is important is to enable the reader to reconstruct the relationships between pieces of information. Even with difficult content, you can understand it if the order and premises are clear. Even if you only use simple words, you cannot understand it if the topic jumps around and the subject is ambiguous.

4 | It is possible to have high human-readability but low human-understandability

Having a neat appearance and having content that is easy to understand are different things. A typical example is a technical article. The title is large. The headings are organized. There are many diagrams. However, technical terms are lined up from the beginning of the article, and the premises for the explanation are omitted. In this case, even if readability is high, understandability is low. The same thing happens with text generated by AI. The sentences are smooth. The paragraphs are well-organized. Plausible words are lined up. However, if you read carefully, you may find that: * Premises are missing * It is just rephrasing the same thing * The conclusion is ambiguous * Causal relationships are not established * There are no concrete examples * It is unclear who the story is for. A text being natural and the content being understandable are not the same. In fact, the more neat the appearance and style are, the more likely we are to feel like we 'understand'. There is a danger here. Readability helps understanding. However, readability alone does not guarantee understanding.

5 | Readability, Recognizability, Understandability, and Operability

If we break down 'clarity' a little more finely, there are at least four stages.

Readability

Being able to follow text or sentences with your eyes. * Text is readable * Line spacing is appropriate * Paragraphs are organized * Even in long texts, your eyes do not easily wander

Recognizability

Being able to distinguish what is where. * Being able to recognize a button as a button * Being able to distinguish between headings and body text * Important information catches your eye * Being able to distinguish between warnings and normal information

Understandability

Being able to understand the meaning and structure.

* Knowing what is being said
* Grasping cause-and-effect relationships
* Being able to distinguish between premises and conclusions
* Knowing how it relates to oneself

Operability

Being able to achieve a goal after understanding.

* Knowing where to press
* Being able to predict the result of an operation
* Being able to go back even if you make a mistake
* Being able to proceed to the goal without getting lost

These four do not exist separately.

They overlap with each other.

If the text is hard to read, understanding the content also becomes difficult.

If you cannot recognize the buttons, you cannot operate them.

If you cannot understand the content, it will not lead to correct actions.

In other words, clarity is not a single performance, but a sequence of stages:

visible
distinguishable
understandable
usable

6 | 'Readability' and 'Comprehensibility' using the iPhone as an example

Let's think about this difference using the iPhone.

On the iPhone screen,

* Text size
* Font
* Icons
* Margins
* Colors
* Layout

are well-organized.

This mainly relates to readability and recognizability.

When you look at the screen,

where things are
which information is important

is designed to be easy to understand.

However, the ease of use of the iPhone is not just about its appearance.

Tap an icon to open an app.

Move the screen upward to scroll through content.

Unnecessary screens can be closed with a back operation.

Similar operations return similar results.

In other words,

it is made so that it is easy to understand the relationship between your operations and their results.

This relates to comprehensibility and operability.

The reason you can use it without reading the entire manual is that users can easily infer the meaning of the operations.

Of course, not everything about the iPhone is intuitive for everyone.

There are functions that require getting used to.

Even so, not just the appearance, but the entire flow of

seeing

understanding
operating
is designed.

What is important here is not to completely separate them by saying

readability is UI, and comprehensibility is UX.

UI relates to the screen and operational aspects, while UX relates to the entire experience, including before and after use.

Readability and comprehensibility are elements that span both.

7 | Why is 'human comprehensibility' important now?

The modern era is not an era of information scarcity.

Rather, it is an era with too much information.

The Internet, social media, videos, news, advertisements, AI.

We are exposed to vast amounts of information every day.

With AI, the speed of creating text and images has increased even further.

In the past, it took time just to organize text.

Now, in a few seconds, you can generate:

* Long articles
* Summaries
* Explanatory materials
* Comparison tables
* Presentation materials

However, making information easier to create and making meaning easier to convey are not the same.

AI can create large amounts of text that looks easy to read.

Even so, you must separately verify whether that text is:

* Accurate

* Includes necessary premises
* Matches the reader's knowledge
* Does not cause misunderstandings
* Can be used for actual decision-making
What is needed in the AI era is not just dealing with the volume of information.

It is the ability to distinguish between well-organized text and understandable text.

And for the sender,

more than the ability to create text,

the ability to predict where the other party will get lost

becomes necessary.

8 | How can we improve human comprehensibility?

So, how can we improve human comprehensibility?

What is important is not to decorate the appearance of information, but to design the path to understanding.

Clarify the purpose

First, show what can be understood from this article.

In text where the purpose is unclear, the reader does not know where they should be heading as they read.

Align the premises

What is obvious to the writer may be unknown to the reader.

If you omit too much technical terminology or background knowledge, they will lose track of the conversation halfway through.

Do not hide the conclusion too much

Text where you don't know what it's about until you read to the end places a heavy burden on the reader.

It is easier to understand if you show a rough conclusion first and then explain the reasons afterward.

Go back and forth between abstract and concrete

With only abstract explanations, it is hard to visualize.

With only concrete examples, you don't know what can be generalized.

Therefore, the flow of

explaining a concept

giving a concrete example

returning to the concept again
is effective.
Use metaphors

A metaphor connects something unknown to something known.

For example, if you compare the 13 segments of digital terrestrial broadcasting to a 13-room apartment building, the structure becomes easier to understand intuitively.

However, a metaphor is not a perfect explanation.

You need to be aware of where it is similar and where it differs.

Do not skip cause-and-effect relationships

Even if you write 'A leads to C,' if B is necessary in between, the reader will not be convinced.

Put into words the parts that are omitted in the writer's head as necessary.

Cut unnecessary information

Being detailed does not always mean being easy to understand.

If there is too much information, it becomes unclear what is important.

Leaving necessary information and cutting the rest is also a technique of explanation.

9 | Clarity is not about looking down on the other party

Some people think that explaining clearly means:

paraphrasing into simple words
watering it down for children

However, true clarity is not about oversimplifying the content.

It is not about throwing complex things as they are, nor is it about pretending that the complexity does not exist.

What is needed is to rearrange the complex structure into an understandable order without breaking it.

This is not an act of underestimating the other party's knowledge.

Rather, it is about properly preparing the path for the other party to reach understanding.

The more expert one is, the easier it becomes to omit the intermediate thinking.

This is because concepts handled for a long time become self-evident to the person themselves.

That is precisely why clear explanations require not only knowledge but also imagination.

Where will a first-time reader stop?

Which words do they not know?

Where will they misunderstand?

The ability to think about that is what creates human comprehensibility.

Conclusion | Information only reaches the recipient when it is understood

Human readability is about being easy for humans to read.

Characters, line spacing, margins, headings, colors, layout, etc., support the act of reading.

Human comprehensibility is about being easy for humans to understand.

Purpose, premises, cause-and-effect relationships, concrete examples, and conclusions support the structure of meaning.

There is information that has high readability but low comprehensibility.

This is text that looks clean but you don't know what it is saying.

Conversely, there are explanations that look simple but are deeply convincing.

In the era where AI will create large amounts of information from now on, both are necessary.

Just being easy to see is not enough.

Just being detailed is not enough.

What is important is that information is reconstructed as meaning within the other party's head.

Information has not yet reached the recipient at the moment it is displayed on the screen.

Even at the moment the text is read, there are times when it has not yet reached the recipient.

When the content is understood, and the recipient thinks, 'I see. So that's what it was,' and it is reproduced as a structure within them, the information reaches them for the first time.

Therefore, the 'clarity' that will be needed from now on is not just about visual orderliness.

Making it readable.

Making it distinguishable.

Making it understandable.
And making it usable.
Human readability and human comprehensibility are the two entrances for that purpose.

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