Verboticism: Simpliphylum

'Then we go for the brain!'

DEFINITION: v. To simplify, dramatize and fictionalize scientific knowledge so that it appeals to a general audience. n. A scientific fact, which has been exaggerated and dumbed-down to make it more "interesting".

Create | Read

Voted For: Simpliphylum

Successfully added your vote for "Simpliphylum".

You still have one vote left...

Gnawledge

Created by: readerwriter

Pronunciation: naw-led-geh

Sentence: At first, Sophia thought it was stupid. Her science teacher at Totally High School had just given the class something he called a Sillybus. On their handouts, a bus was pictured on a kind of map travelling over land and water. The teacher explained the journey the science class would take throughout the school year towards something he called the land of GNAWLEDGE. The teacher promised to show the class that every organism, living or dead, was fed or became food for other organisms in a boat called a HIGHERARKY. For those students who were spiritually-minded, the teacher would present a special section called the Angel Food Cake Walk and prove that after all the little things you couldn't see were eaten by the things you could see, then angels, which you couldn't always see, ate people which you could only see for a while. That day, at morning break, Sophia decided to become anorexic.

Etymology: A play on KNOWLEDGE, the fact or state of knowing + GNAW, to bite or chew persistently

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

love the story - Jabberwocky, 2009-01-30: 11:16:00

Thanks for the high praise, Jabberwocky! - readerwriter, 2009-01-30: 11:53:00

Memorable story and verbotomy - silveryaspen, 2009-01-30: 15:43:00

no way! if gnawledge's etymology is based on "chew persistently", then doesn't that mean quite the opposite (or at least different) than "to simplify"? To me, this word means chewing on information and slowly making your own judgment, in contrast to passively swallowing "knowledge" that was produced by someone else - elcanyonazo, 2009-02-07: 15:28:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Dramscienplify

Created by: chaiandallthatjazz

Pronunciation: drom- sI-en- plif- I

Sentence: "Okay ladies and gentlemen, we have a few workshop options to choose from. Choose the one you are most comfortable with. There is no right answer. See the descriptions on the handout. The microbiology dramscienplify 101 workshop is in room 2; the microbiology workshop, room 1; and, oh," he murmurs, "microbiology comscienplify 101 is room 3. We hope you gain from the workshop, and please make sure to fill out the survey at the end of the workshop as our success depends on you. Thank you."

Etymology: drama + science + simplify / comedy + science + simplify

| Comments and Points

Xcisefiles

Created by: Stevenson0

Pronunciation: X/cise/Files

Sentence: Be sure to watch PBS's latest and greatest scientific adventure yet, in the show all the scientific world is buzzing about 'The XciseFiles' starring David Duchonvy as Fox Mulder and Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully. In this week's nail biter, with a surprising and shocking ending, the two stars take you on a long, scary and sometimes dangerous journey on how water boils at 100 degrees celcius, turns to steam, then condenses and turns back to rain, or water. Don't miss this week's shocking, suspenseful premier called 'The Water Cycle'.

Etymology: XciseFiles - noun - from EXCISE (to remove, or cut out) + X-FILES (former popular TV show above strange and possible scientific facts and recent movie 'X-Files - I Want to Believe'

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

terrific sentence - you must be a science teacher - Jabberwocky, 2009-01-30: 11:18:00

I smell an Emmy...good word! - Nosila, 2009-01-30: 17:56:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Desciencetize

Created by: Mustang

Pronunciation: de-SCI-ehns-eh-tize

Sentence: Henry was a bit of a dunce where science is concerned but he had a gift for gab so by using a smattering of actual knowledge, sprinkling in an abundance of gibberish and doubletalk he could desciencetize just about any kind of medical or scientific information.

Etymology: A play on the word 'desensitize'

| Comments and Points

Dimmunology

Created by: Nosila

Pronunciation: dim mewn ol o jee

Sentence: Explaining how the body contracts diseases to his pretty but ditzy girlfriend, Dody, was a lesson in dimmunology for Professor Speigel.

Etymology: Dim (slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity) & Immunology (the branch of medical science that studies the body's immune system)

| Comments and Points

Driveldings

Created by: silveryaspen

Pronunciation: drih vul dings

Sentence: On television, the overly-simplified science, dripping with over-the-top sexual inuendo, and ever-so- sneaky subliminal suggestions, that advertisers put in their commercials, insults your intelligence, far more, than it convinces you to buy their products. Commercial breaks are well named, for they certainly break-your-cool with their driveldings. Can anyone stand those half-hour and hour-long driveldings they refer to as infomercials?!!! It's enough to drive your kids to pick up a book and read!

Etymology: DRIVEL, DINGS. DRIVEL - silly talk, often irrelevant or inaccurate talk. On tv, they often try to pass it off as scientific. DINGS - 1) to ring with a high-pitched sound. 2) talk repeatedly

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

infomercials are terrible but what I find astonishing are the drug adds that end with several minutes of side effects - Jabberwocky, 2009-01-30: 11:22:00

Amen. Equally astonishing is that people still take them knowing those side effects! - silveryaspen, 2009-01-30: 15:38:00

metrohumanx Now I take Dammitol! - metrohumanx, 2009-01-31: 22:49:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Simplescieman

Created by: mweinmann

Pronunciation: simpel - sii - man

Sentence: Rufus just published a new book about Brain Surgery. It looks like the simplescieman version with lots of colored pictures, new "easy" words for the anatomy and loads of symbols (arrows, charts and little brains). He is hoping that it will be more understandable and, therefore, appeal to a wider audience. Unfortunately, it is about as educational as a quick game of Operation.

Etymology: Simple Simon + Science >> Simple Simon (a foolish fellow, a simpleton) Science ( the state of knowing : knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding, knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws)

----------------------------
COMMENTS:

metrohumanx Simplescieman appeals to my "inner child"...I am a passionate practitioner of DIY surgery. - metrohumanx, 2009-01-30: 01:17:00

Perfect! - kateinkorea, 2009-01-30: 07:11:00

wonderful - Jabberwocky, 2009-01-30: 11:18:00

Easy to say and remember, right on the definition, pun fun humorous, with readily apparent meaning! Simplescieman has it all! Super Duper! - silveryaspen, 2009-01-30: 15:48:00

Said Simplescieman to the Pi(π)man, let me taste your wares, Said the Pieman to Simplescieman, my Pi's aren't round, they're squared! Must be a good word if it is stuck in my head now! - Nosila, 2009-01-30: 17:54:00

----------------------------

| Comments and Points

Idioticks

Created by: abrakadeborah

Pronunciation: id-ee-ot-icks

Sentence: The idioticks section of the Science test may be found on page 0h-0ne-0h-0ne.

Etymology: Idio- Part of idiotic - Very stupid. Icks- (Made up)and pertaining to ; a person who doesn't have the capacity to retain scientific facts.

| Comments and Points

Dorkumentary

artr

Created by: artr

Pronunciation: dawrk-yuh-men-tuh-ree

Sentence: By the time the network was done making the scientific study interesting and understandable to their audience, all they succeeded in producing was a dorkumentary.

Etymology: dork (a silly, out-of-touch person who tends to look odd or behave ridiculously around others; a social misfit) + documentary (based on or re-creating an actual event, era, life story, etc., that purports to be factually accurate and contains no fictional elements)

| Comments and Points

Adfactation

petaj

Created by: petaj

Pronunciation: ad-fact-ay-shun

Sentence: Interest in climate change has produced a slew of adfactations about greenhouse gases, electric cars and energy conservation.

Etymology: adaptation (biological - feature or behaviour of animal that suits it's habitat) (artistic - the making of a movie from a literary piece often making it more commercial for a larger audience) + fact

| Comments and Points

Show All or More...