Questions tagged [science]
The use of English in science.
249
questions
2
votes
1answer
65 views
The pronunciation of sciurine (pertaining to squirrels)
I am intrigued by the pronunciation for the adjective for squirrel, "sciurine".
In Wiktionary, the pronunciation in IPA is '/ˈsaɪjʊɹaɪn/' ('/ˈsʌɪjᵿrʌɪn/' in the OED online), which strikes me ...
0
votes
0answers
12 views
Synonym for un-scientific book by researcher
I am looking for a synonym for a kind of book/genre, that contains interesting information, but is not aimed at the scientific community, being polemical / political and not stringent enough to be ...
1
vote
2answers
97 views
abbreviations for “standard deviation” when used as an informal unit
I am looking for some advice for abbreviating "standard deviation" when it is used in an informal sense as a mathematical unit, especially with regard to financial usage. This often crops up ...
1
vote
1answer
20 views
Term to describe how much something has changed from its original configuration
Is there a term that describes how far removed or how many change steps are between two given states or configurations?
Complexity is a term to describe that something is intricate or complicated, but ...
0
votes
1answer
75 views
Word for a physicist studying mechanics?
For many fields there is a word for a person studying it. In math there is analyst for analysis, algebraist for algebra, and geometer for geometry.
Is there an equivalent word for a physicist studying ...
0
votes
2answers
39 views
What does this sentence actually mean?
I have encountered this sentence in an editing assignment
Many patients continue to have pain and limited function and require some other forms of treatment.
I was wondering if this is equivalent to ...
0
votes
2answers
72 views
“-Based” vs. “ Based”
I am in the process of finalizing an academic research paper and I am struggling to identify the correct hyphenation for the title:
Option 1: Adaptive Chirplet Transform-Based Machine Learning for ...
1
vote
2answers
145 views
Is it redundant to say “global pandemic”? [duplicate]
It seems that the word pandemic is generally understood to refer to a large or global geographic area. Is it therefore redundant to say "global pandemic" in a sentence such as, "The ...
0
votes
2answers
79 views
Is there any single word in English to represent domain of “logic and science” together?
Is there any single word in English to represent domain of "logic and science" together?
Background
Some of my friends are going to start an online movement whose main purpose would be ...
2
votes
1answer
77 views
Is there a word in logic, or science, that means getting the right conclusion from the wrong set of presumptions?
Is there a word in logic, or science, that means getting the right conclusion from the wrong set of presumptions? Or alternatively, something is correct, but the explanation of why is incorrect. Is ...
0
votes
0answers
62 views
Is “get stuck” a proper term in academic writing?
I am writing to inquire the usage of "get stuck" in academic writing. Here is my draft:
this design could get stuck in a bad local minima and therefore is not desired.
I use Google Scholar to ...
1
vote
1answer
84 views
Is there a word to describe a plausible but incorrect explanation? [duplicate]
I'm thinking of something where somebody (with no malicious intention) offers a very plausible and scientific-sounding explanation (not a theory but something presented as a series of facts) such that ...
0
votes
1answer
25 views
Phrases for qualitative comparison
Suppose we have find a relation between two quantities X and Y. When we say "The more Y, the more X" is it implied that the relation between Y and X is linear?
0
votes
0answers
27 views
Why does the term Petri Dishes appear so regularly in political discourse nowadays?
On three occasions on Twitter and other social media platforms, the term "Petri Dishes" appears in a non-scientific context. Is this just a recent fad? It appears to be in the lexicon of many of our ...
1
vote
1answer
129 views
Word for falsely declaring something an anomaly, when it is actually typical?
Is there a term for incorrectly distinguishing something to be not part of a common category of items, saying a sub-group is too unique to be considered to be part of the larger category, even though ...
1
vote
2answers
56 views
A better word/phrase to describe “a more…” in a scientific paper
I am writing a scientific paper on how a cancer staging system may be improved. However, I am a non-native English speaker, and I am concerned that my current title reflects that too much.
Please, ...
0
votes
0answers
87 views
Word for meaning across the solar system
Is there a single term in english that means "to cross or to traverse a solar system"?
For crossing the Atlantic we have transatlantic, to cross the continent we have transcontinental and even to ...
0
votes
2answers
327 views
Does “corroborate” in a scientific context imply confirmation rather “either confirmation or rejection” of findings from previous studies?
I am a non-native English speaker writing a scientific paper.
I have question concerning the word corroborate. In my native language, one might say that a research project aim to corroborate ...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
Should I use a hyphen in “patient tailored” vs “patient-tailored”?
Being a non-native English speaker, I was wondering which is most correct?
(1) Patient-tailored staging of xx carcinoma, or
(2) Patient tailored staging of xx carcinoma?
It is for a scientific ...
1
vote
1answer
89 views
Mathematical Jargon when choosing for determinacy
What is the usual expression a mathematician uses when he has to make a choice in order limit an over-determined structure, in order to continue his argument?
For instance, when a structure is over-...
0
votes
0answers
45 views
Are the words bathymetry and bathymetric interchangable?
In my mind these both work...
1) I performed a bathymetry survey. I gave the client the bathymetry data.
2) I performed a bathymetric survey. I gave the client the bathymetric data.
A web search ...
1
vote
1answer
61 views
How to describe factors leading to a negative event?
Being a non-native English speaker, I am looking for an appropriate verb/phrase to describe the negative event as consequence of two health factors.
My best shot is "precipitate"; however, I am ...
1
vote
2answers
73 views
Can a model or hypothesis “assume?”
The model assumes such and such.
The hypothesis assumes such and such.
In scientific writing, I commonly see similar phrases indicating the construction or use of a model with an assumption. It is so ...
0
votes
1answer
254 views
What does “has been described in other work” mean in this sentence? [closed]
I'm currently reading a book about chemistry. Here is a sentence that I faced and didn't understand:
This procedure has been described in other work from our laboratory
I don't get what it ...
11
votes
3answers
2k views
Did the meaning of “significant” change in the 20th century?
In Do We Really Need the S-word? in 'American Scientist', the author Megan D. Higgs writes
Did the people who introduced the word’s use in statistics intend for it to be interpreted according to ...
0
votes
1answer
51 views
How to avoid overusing 'the' in objective writing
I'm writing an experimental process description and I feel like i'm overusing 'the'.
The plastic tube leading out the bottom of the Vayyar equipment (again the tube on the left) is fed through ...
1
vote
1answer
46 views
Word for an object involved in a collision?
I want a word that is used to mean an object involved in a collision, for example, say two tennis balls collide - ball 1 and ball 2 - what would be a word that could describe either ball, only in the ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
Should I use the formula or the name of the chemical in a sentence?
In a scientific paper, when quoting a chemical, is it more appropriate to write its formula or its name?
For example:
Ion exchange removed nitrate ions from solution.
Or:
Ion exchange removed ...
0
votes
2answers
184 views
When should antibody/antigen be pluralised?
I am doing my thesis corrections, and my examiner (an engineer) has different ideas about whether the word should be pluralised than those I am used to, as I am a non-biochemist, I wanted advice on ...
1
vote
1answer
85 views
“This/That is, ” used at the beginning of a sentence to clarify a concept from the previous sentence
According to an English native speaker who works with me, the "This is" bit in the following sentence should be replaced by "That is":
In fact, the feature space need not be unique. This is, for a ...
-1
votes
1answer
43 views
What is the meaning of the following sentence: [closed]
But why would a strong, inheritable trait that cuts fitness by half not be selected against?
-1
votes
1answer
35 views
An alternative for genetive case with of in scientific writing
I am writing a scientific paper and have a following dillema between two sentences:
Therefore, it is reasonable to analyze the effect of the mutual
coupling in the proposed application.
vs.
...
0
votes
2answers
308 views
Electricity withdrawal
We commonly say "electricity consumption" for both :
the electric energy actually consumed by appliances
the electric energy drawn from the grid by a house, measured by a meter (what appears on your ...
3
votes
1answer
10k views
How to abbreviate “section” and “sections” in scientific writing
What are the correct abbreviation of words "section" and "sections" in a scientific writing?
Sec. and Secs.
or
Sect. and Sects.
?
0
votes
1answer
71 views
Scientific way to describe “over linear growth”
I am aware that typically we use "linear" growth or "exponential" growth to describe certain trending, which seems very standard and scientific.
But on the other hand, what is a proper and scientific ...
10
votes
10answers
6k views
Single word to replace “allowed to be missing”
I want to express my knowledge about the presence of absence of something. My knowledge is divided into three different cases:
I know that the thing doesn't exist.
I don't know whether the thing ...
2
votes
1answer
88 views
“The number of steps is infinite” or “The number of steps is infinity”? [closed]
In a mathematical paper about random-walks. Which is more correct: "The number of steps in the random-walk is infinite" or "The number of steps in the random-walk is infinity"?
3
votes
2answers
183 views
Temperatures, plural, range
I'd like to describe measured temperature readings from a list, say 184, 185, 181, 187, as "Oil sump temperatures measured in the 180s°F during the start of the test." but I'm not sure if this is ...
4
votes
1answer
487 views
When was “off-world” / “offworld” coined?
"Offworld" meaning "not on the main, current planet" is a term in some sci-fi works, and several works have been named using it, like "Offworld Trading Company" (a video game).
The word definitely ...
0
votes
2answers
187 views
Translating a scientific paper from American to British
Over the last few years I have translated into English a fair amount of scientific papers for a Mexican scientist. Throughout this time, I noticed that by far the most common style requirement was ...
2
votes
1answer
339 views
What is the correct usage of the tilde symbol with negative numbers? [closed]
The tilde symbol (~) is used in academic texts in place of about or approximately.
Generally, it is placed immediately before the number (eg. AUD ~2.4 million), which works for positive numbers, ...
0
votes
2answers
1k views
What do humanitarian sciences refer to?
When to use humanitarian sciences and human sciences in contrast? According to my uni materials, humanitarian sciences should have something to do with scientific function style of texts.
0
votes
2answers
40 views
Term for “extent/proportion [into some population] of the condition”?
What is a technical term (perhaps from statistics) for the extent (or proportion) that a specified condition applies to some given population?
For example:
There is a communicable cancer currently ...
-1
votes
1answer
36 views
Term for “extent/proportion of a population [that meet some condition]”
What is a technical term (perhaps from statistics) for the extent (or proportion) that a specified condition applies to some given population?
For example:
There is a communicable cancer currently ...
2
votes
2answers
321 views
Is there a word referring to a given animal species' fear or lack thereof of humans? [closed]
Some animal species are very unafraid of humans, willing to be approached or even picked up. Dodos, famously, and I've noticed with insects as well that some want nothing to do with you whereas other ...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
Proper term for “converting” time domain data to frequency domain
I had difficulty deciding if this should go in stack overflow, electrical engineering or here, English language. Forgive me if it's in the wrong place.
I am looking for a word that describes the ...
1
vote
3answers
2k views
Word for: A river than splits into two, later rejoining into one? (fluvial terminology)
A tributary is river or stream that flows into a larger river.
A distributary a stream branching off a river.
Is there a word that combines both structures, the idea of a river that splits in two ...
0
votes
2answers
133 views
Capitalization of “String”
I am writing a scientific text in the area of computer science. Often, I need to refer to a certain data structure named String which refers to a sequence of characters. In most programming languages, ...
0
votes
1answer
60 views
How does one qualitatively describe the cubic increase of experimental data [duplicate]
I have generated some data Y and would like to describe its variation as a function of some variable X. Using MS Excel, I obtained the trendline shown in the figure below which suggests that Y varies ...
0
votes
5answers
154 views
Is there a single word for inference of a past state?
In many fields of science, such as population genetics or climatology, we are uncertain of past conditions but have knowledge that makes some scenarios more likely than others. We can estimate the ...
