Yes, it's useful for communicating within your group, but as soon as you step outside that circle jargon becomes a problem. That's true even for scientists trying to communicate between disciplines and sub-disciplines of a field. At Ars Technica, John Timmer talks about jargon acronyms that look the same, but mean totally different things depending on what science you do. One of his examples: CTL. If you study flies, this can refer to a specific gene. For people who work with mice, it's a reference to curly tails. For immunologists, it's a type of white blood cell — cytotoxic T lymphocyte.
Yet another reason why jargon sucks
- COMMENTS
- communication
- jargon
- language
- Science
Crocodile impregnated itself in first recorded "virgin birth"
In Costa Rica, a female crocodile birthed a clutch of eggs. No big deal except for the fact that this particular crocodile hadn't been around any male crocodiles in more… READ THE REST
Study: Small-brained hominins used fire, engraved tools and cave walls, and buried their dead
Homo naledi is an extinct species of archaic human that lived in southern Africa about 250,000 to 300,000 years ago. For reference, 300,000 years ago is about when our species,… READ THE REST
Former U.S. Intelligence official says the U.S. possesses craft of non-human origin
According to The Debrief (link here), David Charles Grusch, who served as a representative to the U.S. Department of Defense's Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF), has turned whistleblower, and… READ THE REST
Gear up for summer this bundle of two camera drones for less than $150
We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. TL;DR: Flying camera drones allow you to… READ THE REST
Get a new job faster than ever with the AI Resume Builder, now only $39
We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. TL;DR: Finding a new role can be… READ THE REST
This refurbished Lenovo ThinkCentre computer is on sale for under $200
We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. TL;DR: In need of a laptop upgrade?… READ THE REST