kaberett: A series of phrases commonly used in academic papers, accompanied by humourous "translations". (science!)
kaberett ([personal profile] kaberett) wrote2013-10-28 05:46 pm

Never tell me social sciences are incomprehensible

... because they use "normal" words with specific and non-obvious meanings, especially not if you are claiming that natural/"hard" sciences don't. Because to me:
  • "cold" means "under 800degC"
  • "present" means anything from "today" to "1 January 1950" to "the last hundred thousand years"
  • "recent" means "any time in the last 5 million years"
  • "large variations" can encompass "approximately 5 parts per million"


This post brought to you by my having reached the stage of the day where I have a quiet helpless burying-head-in-hands hysteric upon meeting that last one in a paper I'm reading.
birke: (Default)

[personal profile] birke 2013-10-29 05:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Or "species" in metallurgy vs. biology vs. everything else, in my recent experience.