What’s in a word?

Image: cycleinfrastructurenextstep.com

“The constant interchange of design ideas between architects and clients; clients and their friends; architects and their peers is one of design’s most distinctive qualities, yet it is often neglected by researchers,” I read out, reading from the papers in my hand.

“I’m sorry,” my supervisor, John Lee, interrupted me. “You can’t say that.”

My gaze snapped at him. “What?? Why not?”

“If you state it as a fact, you need to prove it. Or cite someone who has.”

I looked down at my papers again and a light bulb went on over my head. It flickered momentarily, then faded away (it was an old building). “What if I put it like this,” I offered. “The constant interchange of design ideas between architects and clients; clients and their friends; architects and their peers is arguably one of design’s most distinctive qualities, yet it is often neglected by researchers.”