doc's blog
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
The Mysterious Language of Science
a fun meme from bryan:
This list of phrases and their definitions is presented as a public service, to help you understand the mysterious language of science.
- "IT HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN...":
- I didn't look up the original reference.
- "A DEFINITE TREND IS EVIDENT...":
- These data are practically meaningless.
- "WHILE IT HAS NOT BEEN POSSIBLE TO PROVIDE DEFINITE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS...":
- The experiment failed, but I still hope to get it published.
- "TYPICAL RESULTS ARE SHOWN...":
- This is the prettiest example.
- "IN MY EXPERIENCE...":
- Once
- "IN CASE AFTER CASE...":
- Twice
- "IN A SERIES OF CASES...":
- Thrice
- "IT IS BELIEVED THAT...":
- I think.
- "IT IS GENERALLY BELIEVED THAT...":
- A couple of others think so, too.
- "A CAREFUL ANALYSIS OF OBTAINABLE DATA...":
- Three pages of notes were obliterated when I knocked over a glass of beer.
- "IT IS CLEAR THAT MUCH ADDITIONAL WORK WILL BE REQUIRED BEFORE A COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF THIS PHENOMENON OCCURS...":
- I don't understand it
- "AFTER ADDITIONAL STUDY BY MY COLLEAGUES...":
- They don't understand it either.
- "THANKS ARE DUE TO JOE BLOTZ FOR ASSISTANCE WITH THE EXPERIMENT AND TO CINDY ADAMS FOR VALUABLE DISCUSSIONS...":
- Mr. Blotz did the work and Ms. Adams explained to me what it meant.
- "IT IS HOPED THAT THIS STUDY WILL STIMULATE FURTHER INVESTIGATION IN THIS FIELD...":
- I quit.