Infonaut's Journal: Enough with cute titles

Am I the only person who is driven to distraction by "colonized" book and article titles? I bumped into this one today while reading my Torts casebook:

The Grin Without a Cat: Claims for Damages from Toxic Exposures

Would it really have killed them to name the article something like "Evolving Standards in Claims for Damages from Toxic Exposures?" Everything has to be sold now. Nothing can just be presented at face value. No, we're all far too clever and cute for that.

Now I'll go read the case of Gammon v. Osteohathic Hospital of Maine, Inc. At least the stuffy old Supreme Judicial Court of Maine maintained their dignity and didn't give it the title, White as a Ghost: Gammon's Emotional Distress v. Osteopathic Hospital of Maine, Inc.'s Unforced Error.

Cute vs. uninformative vs. jargon

[ediron2]

I agree that 'grin without a cat' is flawed, but not out of cuteness as much as literal uselessness... unless a catless grin (!) figures prominently in the case law. Your 2nd article's made-up title is partly an improvement, though:

Gammon's Emotional Distress v. Osteopathic Hospital of Maine, Inc.'s Unforced Error.

A couple of *good* examples of title == informative tiny abstract would be:

Gammon v. Osteopathic Hospital of Maine, Inc: Emotional Distress v. Unforced Error.

'White as a Ghost' could be useful i

Re:Cute vs. uninformative vs. jargon

[Infonaut]

I agree that 'grin without a cat' is flawed, but not out of cuteness as much as literal uselessness... unless a catless grin (!) figures prominently in the case law

That's an excellent point. I made the error of conflating uselesness and cuteness. In addition to cute but useless titles, I think there are far too many titles that contribute to the overall trashy discourse that passes as civic life in the United States. A quick perusal of the political assassination titles at any big chain book store tells