Siouxsie Wiles • Apr 24, 2020 •
New Zealand is pursuing an ‘elimination’ strategy to counter the coronavirus pandemic. But that word, as with many terms in science, is not necessarily the same as its common usage. Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, our plan is to eliminate Covid-19. We have long since abandoned the “flatten the curve” strategy, which aims to slow the spread of the … Read More
Sarah-Jane O'Connor • Mar 06, 2020 •
It’s the cruellest Catch-22 in science: you spend years learning intricate jargon about your specific area, then this jargon makes it nearly impossible for ‘outsiders’ to understand what you’re on about. Anyone who has submitted a blog to Sciblogs in the past few years has probably received an email back from me pleading for them to remove or explain jargon. Read More
Eric Crampton • Jan 13, 2016 •
Jargon is good for two things. The first is a good one; the second, not so much. Let’s start with the good. Jargon is a convenient shorthand among experts, allowing them to convey a complicated and lengthy idea in a single word. Within an established community of experts, you don’t need to reconvey the whole parable or theorem each time. Read More
Aimee Whitcroft • Oct 28, 2011 •
About 18 months ago I was approached to write an article for the Waikato-focussed Scope magazine. Something about science, maybe, and business. I figured it might be good fun to talk about jargon. So below, with kind permission from Scope, is my article as it first appeared in Scope Winter 2010 (the latest edition, Summer 11, is here). Read More
Aimee Whitcroft • Oct 18, 2011 •
Scientists and the public often seem to speak a different language. And no, I’m not necessarily talking about the dense jargon employed by scientists or, to be frank, the private (or public!) sectors. Instead, I’m talking about some pretty common words, like enhance*. Or aerosol, or manipulation, or, even, scheme. Taken from the article … Read More