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Trendy Words I Do Not Like

Started by Cheerful, September 09, 2020, 02:57:02 PM

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dismalist

#375
Quote from: marshwiggle on April 24, 2022, 01:41:35 PM
Quote from: dismalist on April 24, 2022, 01:37:53 PM
Quote from: Anon1787 on April 24, 2022, 01:29:33 PM
Quote from: dismalist on April 24, 2022, 11:47:56 AM
narrative

Use has exploded since 1960

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=narrative&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cnarrative%3B%2Cc0

It means attributing any meaning one wants to a circumstance or set of circumstances. Thus, we could have any number of narratives for the same sets of facts.

Narratives are like hypotheses. They can't all be right, but they can all be wrong. All or most survive because there is too little at stake for most people.

The explosion in the use of the word "narrative" seems highly problematic (another annoying trendy word), though the po-mos tell us that there are no objective facts.

Mercy! And the explosion in use started around the same time. It's that '68 generation!

Problematic and narrative have in common that they are words that needn't describe something correct or necessary to test or even testable. Could describe anything, really.

Story also took off after 1980, but evidence has gone down, especially since 2000. The trend is sad but clear.


Evidence might disturb the narrative, which could be problematic for the credibility of the story.

Moreover, gathering evidence requires work, a word in decline since the 1920's.

ETA: Original quote.
That's not even wrong!
--Wolfgang Pauli

marshwiggle

Quote from: dismalist on April 24, 2022, 02:06:50 PM
Quote from: marshwiggle on April 24, 2022, 01:41:35 PM
Quote from: dismalist on April 24, 2022, 01:37:53 PM
Quote from: Anon1787 on April 24, 2022, 01:29:33 PM
Quote from: dismalist on April 24, 2022, 11:47:56 AM
narrative

Use has exploded since 1960

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=narrative&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cnarrative%3B%2Cc0

It means attributing any meaning one wants to a circumstance or set of circumstances. Thus, we could have any number of narratives for the same sets of facts.

Narratives are like hypotheses. They can't all be right, but they can all be wrong. All or most survive because there is too little at stake for most people.

The explosion in the use of the word "narrative" seems highly problematic (another annoying trendy word), though the po-mos tell us that there are no objective facts.

Mercy! And the explosion in use started around the same time. It's that '68 generation!

Problematic and narrative have in common that they are words that needn't describe something correct or necessary to test or even testable. Could describe anything, really.

Story also took off after 1980, but evidence has gone down, especially since 2000. The trend is sad but clear.


Evidence might disturb the narrative, which could be problematic for the credibility of the story.

Moreover, gathering evidence requires work, a word in decline since the 1920's.


Objective has also been fallling since 1980.
It takes so little to be above average.

dismalist

#377
Quote from: marshwiggle on April 24, 2022, 02:23:33 PM
Quote from: dismalist on April 24, 2022, 02:06:50 PM
Quote from: marshwiggle on April 24, 2022, 01:41:35 PM
Quote from: dismalist on April 24, 2022, 01:37:53 PM
Quote from: Anon1787 on April 24, 2022, 01:29:33 PM
Quote from: dismalist on April 24, 2022, 11:47:56 AM
narrative

Use has exploded since 1960

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=narrative&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cnarrative%3B%2Cc0

It means attributing any meaning one wants to a circumstance or set of circumstances. Thus, we could have any number of narratives for the same sets of facts.

Narratives are like hypotheses. They can't all be right, but they can all be wrong. All or most survive because there is too little at stake for most people.

The explosion in the use of the word "narrative" seems highly problematic (another annoying trendy word), though the po-mos tell us that there are no objective facts.

Mercy! And the explosion in use started around the same time. It's that '68 generation!

Problematic and narrative have in common that they are words that needn't describe something correct or necessary to test or even testable. Could describe anything, really.

Story also took off after 1980, but evidence has gone down, especially since 2000. The trend is sad but clear.


Evidence might disturb the narrative, which could be problematic for the credibility of the story.

Moreover, gathering evidence requires work, a word in decline since the 1920's.


Objective has also been fallling since 1980.

Well, yeah. Since then it's become increasingly recognized that there are no objective facts, just socially constructed facts.

As Sokal said, come to my 25th story apartment, jump off the balconey, and tell me about socially constructed facts.
That's not even wrong!
--Wolfgang Pauli

Hibush

Quote from: dismalist on April 24, 2022, 02:38:15 PM
Well, yeah. Since then it's become increasingly recognized that there are no objective facts, just socially constructed facts.

As Sokal said, come to my 25th story apartment, jump off the balconey, and tell me about socially constructed facts.

A newspaper article I read today used "fact" as a synonym for "assertion", in a sentence making the point that the assertion was false and without basis.  Is "fact" even a social contruct now?

Anselm

In the past month I talked to two different recruiters about jobs and they both said that they wanted to be transparent with me.   Is this a new thing in corporate speak?
I am Dr. Thunderdome and I run Bartertown.

dismalist

Quote from: Anselm on April 24, 2022, 07:12:30 PM
In the past month I talked to two different recruiters about jobs and they both said that they wanted to be transparent with me.   Is this a new thing in corporate speak?

I love it! Don't mind my transparently self interested behavior. If you do, I'll
Quotehold you accountable
.

My guess is that some communications specialist invents such terms and they spread through corporations so long as they sound nice and are meaningless. Let me know how you feel in terms of our core competencies.
That's not even wrong!
--Wolfgang Pauli

the_geneticist

Quote from: Anselm on April 24, 2022, 07:12:30 PM
In the past month I talked to two different recruiters about jobs and they both said that they wanted to be transparent with me.   Is this a new thing in corporate speak?

Does that mean they will tell you the actual salary?

Anselm

Quote from: the_geneticist on April 25, 2022, 10:11:01 AM
Quote from: Anselm on April 24, 2022, 07:12:30 PM
In the past month I talked to two different recruiters about jobs and they both said that they wanted to be transparent with me.   Is this a new thing in corporate speak?

Does that mean they will tell you the actual salary?

The discussion had to do with timelines and how they needed someone ASAP.
I am Dr. Thunderdome and I run Bartertown.

mamselle

Where have you guys been?

Those terms have been used in corporate and academic settings in the way you're describing for at least 10-15 years that I know of.

M.
Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

Reprove not a scorner, lest they hate thee: rebuke the wise, and they will love thee.

Give instruction to the wise, and they will be yet wiser: teach the just, and they will increase in learning.

dr_evil

Sorry that I haven't read the whole thread yet; I just found it. I would have to add a lot of the terms that admin seems currently fond of: leverage, impact (unless used as something hitting something else), on-boarding (are we getting on a boat?), learner instead of student, etc.  Then there are the nouns used as verbs: adulting, etc. Those make me cringe.

My next edition of buzzword bingo will have lots of options.

the_geneticist

Quote from: dr_evil on April 25, 2022, 02:19:27 PM
Sorry that I haven't read the whole thread yet; I just found it. I would have to add a lot of the terms that admin seems currently fond of: leverage, impact (unless used as something hitting something else), on-boarding (are we getting on a boat?), learner instead of student, etc.  Then there are the nouns used as verbs: adulting, etc. Those make me cringe.

My next edition of buzzword bingo will have lots of options.

I think some of them don't realize the Educational Jargon Generator https://www.sciencegeek.net/lingo.html is tongue-in-cheek site.

Edited to add: I think this gem sums up our curriculum redesigning committee
"We will problematize literature-based learning styles through cognitive disequilibrium."

dr_evil

Quote from: the_geneticist on April 25, 2022, 04:52:03 PM
I think some of them don't realize the Educational Jargon Generator https://www.sciencegeek.net/lingo.html is tongue-in-cheek site.

Edited to add: I think this gem sums up our curriculum redesigning committee
"We will problematize literature-based learning styles through cognitive disequilibrium."

Oh, that site is perfect. "Disequilibrium"? Ouch, my brain is screaming in terror. Equilibrium means a real thing to me in Evil Science.

And I have actually found a site to create a selection of Buzzword Bingo cards. I'm all set for my next faculty meeting.

marshwiggle

Quote from: dr_evil on April 25, 2022, 02:19:27 PM
Sorry that I haven't read the whole thread yet; I just found it. I would have to add a lot of the terms that admin seems currently fond of: leverage, impact (unless used as something hitting something else), on-boarding (are we getting on a boat?), learner instead of student, etc.  Then there are the nouns used as verbs: adulting, etc. Those make me cringe.


When my daughter started working for a high tech company, and talked of "on-boarding" new *employees, my mind always jumped to water-boarding, and I can't get that sort of image out of my head.

(* or new clients)
It takes so little to be above average.

mamselle

Let's see, 'on-boarding' came in with SAP/Oracle's Peoplesoft in, hmm...well, by 2005, anyway, when I was working at a place that used those things.

I'd say it had been in use at least 5 years before, because we had a second- or third-generation version of the software by then.

M.
Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

Reprove not a scorner, lest they hate thee: rebuke the wise, and they will love thee.

Give instruction to the wise, and they will be yet wiser: teach the just, and they will increase in learning.