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)
The word predates science
“But that’s just a hypothesis…a GAME hypothesis.”
…I’d sub to that channel
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.
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.
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
Would courses like Music Theory also need to get a new name?
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.
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.
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.
Medical terms being used as an insult is a very specific (and problematic) case. And they also weren’t turned into their own opposite. They were equalized with stupidity.
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.
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.]
You’re talking to scientists not linguists
Their comment was about everyday use.
When someone uses “hesitant”
When they mean “reluctant”
This is my biggest pet peeve and I will die on this hill.
Yes, I drive my family nuts.
Deez nuts?
Yes, they are the Deez family, and yes they have nuts. Enough doxing.
I suggest we use new words.
Hypothesis - the great pondering
Theory - mystical workings of the orbI support this. If you’re going to fluff a paper with a load of bullshit words and clunky phrasing, it should at least be fun.
As an addendum, I would like to abolish the use of the word “herein.”
How about when they say “a phenomena”?
Or “a criteria”.
a data
Mmh… Careful now…
Nobody in the history of humanity has been asked how pedantic they are.
How pedantic are you?
Just a joke. It’s just a way to set up the joke. It doesn’t make sense, practically, but it isn’t supposed to be part of the funny bit. Or it is… It could be, in an ironic way.
🤷♂️ Take it with a pinch of salt.
Me when people treat theory as if its concrete fact that they themselves penned and proved.
And then say “it’s just a theory” to completely dismiss something they don’t like.
This is a personal attack.
Edit: who’s downvoting jokes in this community? 😂
Or conjecture
English is a juggernaut truck, it goes on regardless
Hypothetheory
So you’ve met creationists.
Not in person, no. But I’ve had biology profs say that something was “just a theory”.
A GAME theory
The worst part about that is, game theory is an actual field of math. You know, an ACTUAL theory.
sigh
