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Re: Font Selection Methodology

Subject: Re: Font Selection Methodology
From: Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 18:59:25 -0300


Jan Henning wrote:


1 Sir Cyril Burt, A Psychlogical Study of Typography, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1959

I don't know about the other source your correspondent cited. However,

Cyril Burt is strongly suspected of having falsified some of his research on other subjects, so I'd be reluctant to accept any study he did.

The methods used in legibility testing are (from 'The Graphics of
communication'):

[snip]


What's missing from this methodology is any attempt to systematically vary fonts according to their characteristics. Without this aspect, I'm afriad that the studies are inconclusive at best and useless and worst.
It may be true that these studies were done by people with a claim to being scientists. However, at times, what scientists do is not scientific - by which I mean it's not good science.

Unfortunately, this seems to be one of those times.
Incidentally, Dick and several others explained the contention that a scientific study of font readability had never been done some months ago, so anyone interested in the subject might look in the list archives.

--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com

"Never eat at a diner called 'Mom's,' never play cards with a guy named 'Doc,' and never get involved with a woman who's got bigger troubles than you."
- Nelson Algren, The Man with the Golden Arm





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References:
Re: Font Selection Methodology: From: Dick Margulis
Re(2): Font Selection Methodology: From: Jan Henning

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