The true meaning of scientific phrases
Jul3Written by:
2009/07/03 09:51 AM 
Ever wonder what those scientific dudes are talking about? I just hate it when people smother facts or lack there of with useless industry words. Problem is I have been guilty of that myself. In most cases, it has been when I wanted to hide something or not reveal the complete truth. Here is tongue-‘n-cheek look at some scientific phrases and what they could possibly mean. Have fun and enjoy, you deserve a laugh now and then.
| Phrase |
Translation |
| It has long been known |
I haven't bothered to look up the reference |
| It is believed |
I think |
| It is generally believed |
A couple of other guys think so too |
| It is not unreasonable to assume |
If you believe this, you'll believe anything |
| Of great theoretical |
I find it kind of interesting
importance |
| Of great practical importance |
I can get some mileage out of it |
| Typical results are shown |
The best results are shown |
| 3 samples were chosen for further study |
The others didn't make sense, so we ignored them |
| The 4 hour sample was not studied |
I dropped it on the floor |
| The 4 hour determination may not be significant |
I dropped it on the floor, but scooped most of it up |
| The significance of these results is unclear |
Look at the pretty artefact |
| It has not been possible to provide definitive answers |
The experiment was negative, but at least I can publish the data somewhere |
| Correct within an order of magnitude |
Wrong |
| It might be argued that |
I have such a good answer for this objection that I shall now raise it |
| Much additional work will be required |
This paper is not very good, but neither are all the others in this miserable field |
| These investigations proved highly rewarding |
My grant is going to be renewed |
| I thank X for assistance with the experiments and Y for useful discussions on the interpretation of the data |
X did the experiment and Y explained it to me |
Do you have any more you can add? Leave them in the comment box below, so that we can all share in the laughter.
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science1 comment(s) so far...
Re: The true meaning of scientific phrases
Test comment
By Robert Bravery on
2009/07/03 10:16 AM
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