How important is it to use “important” in your writing?

Have you read an article where the author talks about “an important process” or “the important role of another process”?

Do these sort of platitudes go in one of your ears and out the other? Are you convinced by the author’s use of the word “important” that it truly is an important process? Or, do you want to see the supporting evidence for why it is important?

How about quantifying exactly how important that particular process is? If calculations show that varying the input only led to a 20% change in the output, is that an “important” effect?

Given that multiple processes usually come together to produce a weather event, is isolating one process as “important” a realistic description of how the atmosphere works?

They say that the First Rule of Writing is to show, not tell. Thus, you should avoid telling the readers how important something is, and show them instead.

(Image from smartpassiveincome.com)