There wasn't much technical terminology, and then, most academics are not trained in writing. And there is what is probably worse than ever before, the growing use of professional jargon.
I don't think academic writing ever was wonderful. However, science used to be much less specialized.
I dreamed of becoming a scientist, in general, and a paleontologist, in particular, ever since the Tyrannosaurus skeleton awed and scared me.
The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best - and therefore never scrutinize or question.
When people learn no tools of judgment and merely follow their hopes, the seeds of political manipulation are sown.
A lot of scientists hate writing. Most scientists love being in the lab and doing the work and when the work is done, they are finished.