Obfuscation is the obscuring of the intended meaning of

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

by making the message difficult to understand, usually with confusing and ambiguous language. The obfuscation might be either unintentional or intentional (although intent usually is connoted), and is accomplished with circumlocution (talking around the subject), the use of

jargon Jargon, or technical language, is the specialized terminology associated with a particular field or area of activity. Jargon is normally employed in a particular Context (language use), communicative context and may not be well understood outside ...

(technical language of a profession), and the use of an argot ( ingroup language) of limited communicative value to outsiders. In expository writing, unintentional obfuscation usually occurs in draft documents, at the beginning of composition; such obfuscation is illuminated with

critical thinking Critical thinking is the process of analyzing available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to make sound conclusions or informed choices. It involves recognizing underlying assumptions, providing justifications for ideas and actions, ...

and editorial revision, either by the writer or by an editor. Etymologically, the word ''obfuscation'' derives from the Latin , from ''obfuscāre'' (to darken); synonyms include the words beclouding and abstrusity.

Medical

Doctors are faulted for using

to conceal unpleasant facts from a patient; the American author and physician Michael Crichton said that medical writing is a "highly skilled, calculated attempt to confuse the reader". The psychologist B. F. Skinner said that medical notation is a form of multiple audience control, which allows the doctor to communicate to the pharmacist things which the patient might oppose if they could understand medical jargon.

Eschew

"Eschew obfuscation", also stated as "eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation", is a humorous fumblerule used by English teachers and professors when lecturing about proper writing techniques. Literally, the phrase means "avoid being unclear" or "avoid being unclear, support being clear", but the use of relatively uncommon words causes confusion in much of the audience (those lacking the vocabulary), making the statement an example of

irony Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modernity, modern times irony has a ...

, and more precisely a heterological phrase. The phrase has appeared in print at least as early as 1959, when it was used as a section heading in a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

document. An earlier similar phrase appears in Mark Twain's '' Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses'', where he lists rule fourteen of good writing as "eschew surplusage".

Secure communication

Obfuscation of oral or written communication achieves a degree of secure communication without a need to rely upon technology. This technique is sometimes referred to as "talking around" and is a form of security through obscurity. A notable example of obfuscation of written communication is a message sent by September 11 attacks ringleader

Mohamed Atta Mohamed Atta (1 September 196811 September 2001) was an Egyptian terrorist hijacker for al-Qaeda. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism, pan-Islamist, he was the ringleader of the September 11 attacks and served as the Aircraft hijacking, hijacker-pi ...

to other conspirators prior to the attacks occurring: In this obfuscated message, the following code words are believed to exist: * "semester" refers to planned September 11 attacks * "19 confirmations" refers to the

Hijackers in the September 11 attacks The aircraft hijackers in the September 11 attacks were 19 men affiliated with Jihadism, jihadist organization al-Qaeda. They hailed from four countries; 15 of them were citizens of Saudi Arabia, two were from the United Arab Emirates, one was f ...

* "faculty of law" refers to a target, the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

* "faculty of urban planning" refers to a target, the World Trade Center * "faculty of fine arts" refers to a target, the White House * "faculty of engineering" refers to a target,

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

Within the

illegal drug trade The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of drug prohibition, prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibitionism, prohibit trade, exce ...

, obfuscation is commonly used in communication to hide the occurrence of drug trafficking. A common spoken example is " 420", used as a code word for cannabis, a drug which, despite some recent prominent decriminalization changes, remains illegal in most places. The Drug Enforcement Administration reported in July 2018 a total of 353 different code words used for cannabis.

White box cryptography

In white-box cryptography, obfuscation refers to the protection of cryptographic keys from extraction when they are under the control of the adversary, e.g., as part of a DRM scheme.Chow S, Eisen P, Johnson H, et al. A white-box DES implementation for DRM applications /Digital Rights Management. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2002: 1-15.

Network security

In network security, obfuscation refers to methods used to obscure an attack payload from inspection by network protection systems.

In popular culture

* In Animal Farm, the pigs such as Squealer and Napoleon use obfuscation to confuse the other animals with doublespeak in order to prevent any uprisings. *In the British Sitcom Yes Minister, the character Sir Humphrey Appleby often uses obfuscation for comedic effect while trying to confuse and prevent Jim Hacker from taking charge.

References

External links

* {{Media manipulation Human behavior English phrases Ambiguity Psychological abuse