Vote for the best verboticism.
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".
Verboticisms
Click on each verboticism to read the sentences created by the Verbotomy writers, and to see your voting options...
You have two votes. Click on the words to read the details, then vote your favorite.
Defactoid
Created by: mrskellyscl
Pronunciation: de-fac-toid
Sentence: Due to the success of his book, "K-9 ET" (Extra-terrestrial Doggies), Fred became the defactoid authority on canine aliens. He was a popular guest on the talk show circut and, after appearances on Larry King and The Tonight Show, landed his own cable television show, called "Is Your Dog an Alien?"
Etymology: de:remove from + fact: truth -- defacto: dominant standard or law that exists because of common acceptance rather than authority + factoid: a "fact" that exists to create or manipulate public opinion - often applied to newsmedia accused of publishing untrue or unverified articles for the purpose of sensationalism.
Adfactation
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
Scifidumb
Created by: TJayzz
Pronunciation: Sy-fy-dum
Sentence: Whilst trying to explain the details to the general public about the inner workings of quantum physics, the scientists, in order to scifidumb the subject, resorted to employing a nursury school teacher to simplify things and also an author with a good imagination to make things more interesting by adding a few false facts.
Etymology: Sci-fi(Abbreviation of science fiction) + Dumb(as in dumb down) = Scifidumb
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COMMENTS:
it would be fun to hear verbotomists explaining quantum physics - I bet we cold come up with some interesting false facts - Jabberwocky, 2009-01-30: 11:29:00
No doubt there Jabberwocky!! - TJayzz, 2009-01-31: 13:58:00
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Cybertific
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: sy ber tif fik
Sentence: With the advent of the computer age, no stone is left unturned in the quest for knowledge. To make scientific information digestible to the great masses, many sites have become cybertific. This means that domains of eminent scientists and years of research and investigation have been simplified so that anyone who can turn on a computer, can cut and paste deep information. Such data is then used by these sci-pirates on facebook and twitter to submit as their own assignments for school. Thank you Wikipedia.
Etymology: Cyber (relating to or characteristic of the culture of computers, information technology, and virtual reality) & Scientific (conforming with the principles or methods used in science)
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
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)
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
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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
Now I take Dammitol! - metrohumanx, 2009-01-31: 22:49:00
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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
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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
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Tryptostretch
Created by: jajsr
Pronunciation: Trip-toe-str-etch
Sentence: After Thanksgiving dinner, Shawn sat down on the couch and started to doze off. When his nephew, John, asked him why he was so sleepy, Shawn said it was because of the tryptophan in the turkey. Little to Shawn's knowledge, John had just finished watching a special about the "tryptophan myth", and realized Shawn just delievered a classic tryptostretch.
Etymology: Combination of "Trypto" from tryptophan - amino acid in turkey that's 'supposed' to make you sleepy; and "stretch" - an exercise of something beyond ordinary or normal limits - exaggeration.
Shocumentary
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: shäkyəmentərē
Sentence: Well we’ve lasted through another Sharkweak. Seven days of people ”risking their lives” to show us just how dangerous sharks are. Each shocumentary tried to outdo the other scaring their audience, at least in the promos.
Etymology: shock (a sudden upsetting or surprising event or experience) + documentary (a movie or a television or radio program that provides a factual record or report)
Comments:
Today's definition was suggested by metrohumanx. Thank you metrohumanx. ~ James
Well put.
...and thank you for letting me "vent".
Thank you for venting! Obviously you are very gnawledgeable. ~ James
Today's definition was suggested by metrohumanx. Thank you metrohumanx. ~ James