this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2024
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Science Memes

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[–] ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net 102 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)
[–] Quetzalcutlass@lemmy.world 34 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Jealousy is just envious because it didn't make it into the Seven Deadly Sins.

[–] joyjoy@lemm.ee 15 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Envy is the emotion behind coveting.

[–] PlantDadManGuy@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

Covetousness is the primary motivation behind adultery.

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 55 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

The word theory has become (or at best is becoming) a clusterfuck of whatever, much like the word literally.

And we don't even have (normal/easy/exact) replacements for those words.
Those words were already the scientific terms for nerds. But normies normied them into normedom, literally theorised into a fuck.

(Also unfortunately Im a normie, but that doesn't mean I can't bitch about it)

[–] Zwiebel@feddit.org 24 points 3 months ago (4 children)

I like the word "model", I think it's a better fit even. We're modeling reality. Some models turn out to be shit, while others are well tested giving confidence that they mimic reality well.

[–] Ranger@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 3 months ago

But isn't model used differently in different disciplines?

[–] hemko@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 3 months ago (2 children)

~~Some~~ Most models turn out to be shit

Ftfy

[–] lostme@lemmy.world 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

All models are shit. Some of them are useful tho

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[–] Malgas@beehaw.org 6 points 3 months ago

Every model is wrong. Some are useful.

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[–] AFallingAnvil@lemmy.ca 46 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

"But that's just a hypothesis...a GAME hypothesis."

...I'd sub to that channel

[–] Wogi@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago

That entire universe of channels is more accurately described as "whatever" hypothesis.

I kinda wonder how they're doing with the new hosts. Not enough to check, but it's more than 0.

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[–] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 35 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Read the other day that there actually isn't any official distinction. It's just colloquially used that way in some scientific circles but definitely not all. Probably not by etymologists.

[–] dogsoahC@lemm.ee 23 points 3 months ago (25 children)

Normally, I'm all for language changing over time. If some word is used a certain way, so beit. But not here. Not in a case where people can end up saying dumb shit like "Evolution is just a theory." I will physically fight people on that, If need be.

[–] lauha@lemmy.one 32 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Theory meaning "unproven assumption" is one of the definitions in Merriam-Webster so it is not a new definition.

You're just angry word means something you don't want it to mean. Just like the literally-figuratively crowd.

[–] rtxn@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

If you consider gross misuse (i.e. mixing up "theory" and "hypothesis") to be a valid form of etymology (e.g. making new words), I have a question to axe.

(I apologize to linguists' families who now have to clean up bodily fluids and/or arrange a funeral.)

[–] Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

The aks variant pronunciation of ask is fine. It is part of a dialect.

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[–] Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 6 points 3 months ago (4 children)

I think anyone who uses the word "literally" to mean anything other than "in a literal sense" is a moron who never actually thinks about what the words coming out of their mouth mean, and I always will.

[–] Jiggle_Physics@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago (3 children)

People who do not seem to understand that language is different than they wish it to be, are the actual morons. Not only morons, but pampas morons. Language is messy, imprecise, and always in flux. Language is a construct of the collective of its speakers, not you alone, nor anyone else. This is why we have specific lexicons for various industries, and academic fields. Even those are constantly being updated, and revised.

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[–] joyjoy@lemm.ee 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

To be perfectly fair, you can't "prove" or "disprove" a theory. You can only discover new evidence that supports the theory or another competing theory. Multiple competing theories can be equally accepted as correct.

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[–] joyjoy@lemm.ee 8 points 3 months ago

Evolution is just a theory

And so is gravity, and the concept of colors.

[–] PyroVK@lemmy.zip 8 points 3 months ago

I remember seeing somewhere that the "colloquial" usage is actually the original and that the scientific community is the one that changed it. I do agree that the evolution argument is stupid but it's hard to blame the non scientific populace for not knowing the distinction. The evolution denier just don't have a lot else to stand on.

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[–] 2pt_perversion@lemmy.world 30 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (4 children)

Descriptive linguists unite! Words evolve and that's okay. Really science should pivot away and start calling more proven theories a different word if they're upset about the confusion.

The etymology of the word theory comes from a word with a meaning closer to "to look at or speculate" so even in that sense science kind of hijacked a word that was further from the modern scientific understanding of the word "theory" and descriptively transformed it themselves for use in their community. And that's okay too.

[–] tehmics@lemmy.world 12 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I've ranted about this so much to people close to me. Scientific community just needs to adopt a new word like you say, theory is a lost battle

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[–] dogsoahC@lemm.ee 8 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I accept it in colloquial discourse. I'm not happy about it, and I will smartass at everyone who isn't asking, but I accept that I'm probably fighting a losing battle. But in science, it's absolutely non-negotiable for words to mean what they mean, and not their own opposite.

[–] 2pt_perversion@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago

Tell that to conventional current vs electron flow. Science is ever updating with new information and the words we use to describe it will change over time as well, but I get what you mean. Prescriptive linguistics especially in formal settings like scientific writing is helpful for clear communication.

[–] frezik@midwest.social 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Various fields have to adapt their terms all the time. For example, "idiot", "moron", and "mental retardation" were all official medical terms. Then they got used as an insult by the population at large, and got so bad that the medical field had to abandon them.

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[–] MeowZedong@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 3 months ago

Counterpoint:

The language of science is specific because it is beneficial to have standards that allow explicit specificity. Scientific linguistics evolve differently from the way colloquial linguistics evolves due to different motivations and this difference is okay.

The real problem isn't that scientific language is too strict but that we gatekeep scientific participation in every form, preventing most people from participating in such a way that scientific communication is not confusing. This is in addition to most scientific publications being unnecessarily written in inaccessible language. Specificity is helpful, but the excessive use of jargon and buzz-words to make yourself sound smarter through obtuse language is unhelpful for everyone involved. When jargon cannot be avoided, define it. If you cannot define it, reference a definition.

Clarity and accessibility in all scientific communication is the key to understanding.

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[–] Matriks404@lemmy.world 20 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

While theory and hypothesis are not the same if you are talking about science, in general everyday use theory is used as a synonym.

In wiktionary: 5. A hypothesis or conjecture. [from 18th c.]

[–] Kanda@reddthat.com 7 points 3 months ago

But I'm a wannabe scientist, don't come here with your colloquial language explanations

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[–] NataliePortland@lemmy.ca 14 points 3 months ago

When someone uses “hesitant”

When they mean “reluctant”

[–] weariedfae@lemmy.world 12 points 3 months ago (1 children)

This is my biggest pet peeve and I will die on this hill.

Yes, I drive my family nuts.

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 6 points 3 months ago

Yes, they are the Deez family, and yes they have nuts. Enough doxing.

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 12 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

I suggest we use new words.

Hypothesis - the great pondering
Theory - mystical workings of the orb

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[–] waigl@lemmy.world 11 points 3 months ago (3 children)

How about when they say "a phenomena"?

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)
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[–] XOXOX@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Nobody in the history of humanity has been asked how pedantic they are.

[–] rustydrd@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 months ago

How pedantic are you?

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[–] psycho_driver@lemmy.world 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Me when people treat theory as if its concrete fact that they themselves penned and proved.

[–] LANIK2000@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago

And then say "it's just a theory" to completely dismiss something they don't like.

[–] Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

This is a personal attack.

Edit: who's downvoting jokes in this community? 😂

[–] Paradachshund@lemmy.today 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)
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[–] buh@hexbear.net 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Me when someone says “addicting” when “addictive” makes more sense

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[–] chillbo_baggins@hexbear.net 4 points 3 months ago

When some says nukeuller

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