Tuesday 12 October 2010

Decoding Doublespeak

The following list of phrases and their definitions may help you understand the mysterious language of science and medicine. These special phrases may also come in handy for anyone reading an academic paper.

"IT HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN"
I didn't look up the original reference.

"IT IS BELIEVED THAT"
I think.

"IT IS GENERALLY BELIEVED THAT"
A couple of others think so, too.

"A STATISTICALLY-ORIENTED PROJECTION OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF
THESE FINDINGS"
A wild guess.

"CORRECT WITHIN AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE"
Wrong.

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