Just take a breath

Question

I'll make you stop and take a breath,
and you'll continue, or else comes death.
I'm smart - my brother went to college
across the seas to gain some knowledge.

Some people don't like me nearly enough -
it makes understanding them I think too tough.
But one thing's for certain and, man, this is true -
I'd rather see too many me's than too few.

Who or what am I?

Hint:

You've seen me today if you read this riddle

Answer 1

I’ve come to realize

you are a comma.

I'll make you stop and take a breath, / and you'll continue, or else comes death.

Commas allow one to take a brief pause when reading. I think the second line references either literal death (if the reader doesn’t exhale) or the death of the idea conveyed by the sentence read.

I'm smart - my brother went to college / across the seas to gain some knowledge.

A reference to the Oxford comma. Named after the Oxford University Press, it is an optional comma that precedes “and” within a list (though, if you ask me, it ain’t optional). :-)

Some people don't like me nearly enough - / it makes understanding them I think too tough.

Commas may be seen as unnecessary clutter. However, a lack of commas can cause confusion, as (maybe?) exemplified here.

But one thing's for certain and, man, this is true - I'd rather see too many me's than too few.

I agree; I prefer commas for the sake of clarity. A sentence’s meaning can change if it’s missing a sorely needed comma. See here for a fun joke.