There need to be a few changes to get this article into simple English. It is a complex subject, and while many of the words are linked, it needs work to make it readable. At the moment according to this site [1] its Flesch Reading Ease is 24.32 (target 70+) and its Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level score is 11.96 (target 8). This sentence is an example of one which needs work: "Because it will take 25,000 years for the message to reach its intended destination of stars (and an additional 25,000 years for any reply), the Arecibo message was more a demonstration of human technological achievement than a real attempt to enter into a conversation with extraterrestrials." --Peterdownunder (talk) 06:24, 3 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I made some changes, and Flesch-Kincaid is now around 50. Note however, I do not believe in bean-counting methods such as represented by these tests. I have stated this position on varioous occasions; I will reiterate it here:
To produce a useful measurement of semantic complexity we need to take into account semantic information. Sentences like "A and B and C", or "A because B", are not necessarily more difficult to understand than "A. B. C.", "A. For this reason, B.", respectively. AFAIK, Flesh-Kincaid et al do not take into account semantic info; and are therefore unsuitable.
We are talking about writing about a scientific subject. For the reason of exactness, it is unavoidable to use the appropriate scientific vocabulary. Any approach based on "the X most used words in English" will therefore fail. Take "the X most words in relevant scientific publications", and you probably get a very different picture, with the usual restriction: Your average 10-year-old will not understand an article from such a scientific publication.
If you see a way of simplifying the article, while keeping its exactness, feel free; I do not claim any ownership.... --Eptalon (talk) 12:42, 3 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]
