diff --git a/IPython/__init__.py b/IPython/__init__.py
index b646c76..dd557e6 100644
--- a/IPython/__init__.py
+++ b/IPython/__init__.py
@@ -86,10 +86,17 @@ def embed_kernel(module=None, local_ns=None, **kwargs):
     real_embed_kernel(module=module, local_ns=local_ns, **kwargs)
 
 def start_ipython(argv=None, **kwargs):
-    """launch a normal IPython instance (as opposed to embedded)
+    """Launch a normal IPython instance (as opposed to embedded)
     
-    This is a public API method, and will survive implementation changes.
+    `IPython.embed()` puts a shell in a particular calling scope,
+    such as a function or method for debugging purposes,
+    which is often not desirable.
+    
+    `start_ipython()` does full, regular IPython initialization,
+    including loading startup files, configuration, etc.
+    much of which is skipped by `embed()`.
     
+    This is a public API method, and will survive implementation changes.
     
     Parameters
     ----------
@@ -97,7 +104,8 @@ def start_ipython(argv=None, **kwargs):
     argv : list or None, optional
         If unspecified or None, IPython will parse command-line options from sys.argv.
         To prevent any command-line parsing, pass an empty list: `argv=[]`.
-    
+    user_ns : dict, optional
+        specify this dictionary to initialize the IPython user namespace with particular values.
     kwargs : various, optional
         Any other kwargs will be passed to the Application constructor,
         such as `config`.
diff --git a/IPython/terminal/embed.py b/IPython/terminal/embed.py
index 3b06bfc..ed0becb 100644
--- a/IPython/terminal/embed.py
+++ b/IPython/terminal/embed.py
@@ -272,6 +272,11 @@ def embed(**kwargs):
     instance and then call it.  Consecutive calls just call the already
     created instance.
 
+    If you don't want the kernel to initialize the namespace
+    from the scope of the surrounding function,
+    and/or you want to load full IPython configuration,
+    you probably want `IPython.start_ipython()` instead.
+
     Here is a simple example::
 
         from IPython import embed