Good intentions, indeed. Creating lots of steering committee slides, I know about the wish from the audience of a simpler language. But ‘very close’ is different from ‘close’. It’s not just salt and pepper but trying to articulate a complex and nuanced reality. And yes, research papers then sound a bit less solid and complete- sorry, but often this is the reality you should not hide.
it's a way to express steps in a continuum (given by the context):
- not close (1)
- close (2)
- very close (3)
- arrived (4)
That's how language works. It's not mathematics and uses "salt and pepper" to convey the message as accurately as possible.
