When the results were handed back I looked at my book. Where I had written, “obviously” he had crossed out that word and a lot of subsequent text. He wrote, “since it was obvious I didn’t bother to read it.” Forty odd years later I have never forgotten the lesson which affected me not simply in regards to the word “obviously”.
(The whole class failed that test and there followed quite a bit of instruction on how to to do schoolwork. I now wonder if it even counted against our grade?)
And omitting the word "obvious" wouldn't make the statement any less obvious. Wouldn't his explanation demand he cross out any basic true statements, no matter how you worded them?
There are good arguments for avoiding the word "obviously" in many circumstances... but I don't buy that argument.