Study finds legalese language a "magic spell" of authority

It's footnotes to Wittgenstein all the way down

An example of legalese

Researchers at MIT set out to study the origins of impenetrable legal language, especially complex sentences that mix definitions with directives—a hallmark of "legalese." Expecting to find that such language results from legislators or officials adding to and editing earlier, plainer versions of the text as the need and opportunit…