The Mysterious Language of Science
18 January 2007This list of phrases and their definitions is presented as a public
service, to help you understand the mysterious language of science. These
special phrases also appear in PhD dissertations and academic papers.
“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.
“THREE OF THE SAMPLES WERE CHOSEN FOR DETAILED STUDY…”
The other results didn’t fit my theory.
“TYPICAL RESULTS ARE SHOWN…”
This is the prettiest graph.
“THESE RESULTS WILL BE IN A SUBSEQUENT REPORT…”
I might get around to this sometime, if pushed … or funded.
“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.
“CORRECT WITHIN AN ORDER OF MANITUDE…”
Wrong.
“ACCORD1NG TO STATISTICAL ANALYSIS…”
Rumor has it.
“A STATISTICALLY-ORIENTED PROJECTION OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THESE
FINDINGS…”
A wild guess.
“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.
“A HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT AREA FOR EXPLORATORY STUDY…”
A totally useless topic selected by my committee.
“IT IS HOPED THAT THIS STUDY WILL STIMULATE FURTHER INVESTIGATION IN THIS
FIELD…”
I quit.
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