He who would reproach an author for obscurity should look into his own mind to see whether it is quite clear there. In the dusk the plainest writing is illegible.

Before deciding something is badly explained, it is worth checking the state of the mind doing the reading. Tired, distracted or resistant, you will find the clearest page opaque, and the fault seems to lie in the page. Some writing genuinely is murky, but the failure is shared more often than either side admits. Confusion is a fact about a meeting between two things, not a verdict on one of them.

When something loses you this week, try it once more at a better hour before dismissing it. If it is still fog at your sharpest, then say so plainly and move on.