Simple things stated in a complex way

While I no longer do laboratory research, I still proudly consider myself a scientist and believe anyone can be a scientist if they have a curious mindset and fuel their actions with critical thinking. Nonetheless, those who consider themselves scientists do often have a few stereotypical quicks. One of these quirks is an infatuation with jargon and making communication more complicated that it needs to be. Part homage, part chastisement, in this blog post I provide examples of the complex ways scientists might say simple things.

*As a side note, the idea for this blog post came from a conversation about linguistics and my first example is the summation of that conversation.

Drawing of lips getting ready to pronounce something#1
Complex
: In many ways, language is shaped by biology and must conform to the shapes and structures of our mouths and airways.

Simple: We avoid saying words that are difficult to pronounce.

Drawing of a cancer cell evolving from a pile of cells doused with a chemical#2
Complex
: Continued exposure to damaging agents can lead to a series of genetic changes that ultimately enable otherwise quiescent cells to start dividing rapidly and dangerously spread throughout the body.

Simple: Certain types of chemicals and radiation can cause cancer.

Sketch of people having a conversation

#3
Complex
: The key to keeping a conversation going is to identify the activities, ideas, and people that excite your conversation partner and work these things into the conversation.

Simple: People like to talk about themselves.

Sketch of a burger, fries, and a shake#4
Complex
: If your metabolism is predisposed to store excess dietary calories in fatty acids and other macromolecules, you’re more likely to increase your body mass index on a given diet and activity regimen than someone who is predisposed to excrete excess calories.

Simple: Some people gain weight more easily than others.

Sketch of a puppy#5
Complex
: It can be easier to associate phenotypic traits in purebred dogs with particular genetic variations because of the level of genetic identity within and between different breeds.

Simple: Dogs are inbred and that can sometimes make their genetics easier to understand.

I should point out that the majority of these aren’t real examples and were just fun to come up with. Feel free to tweet your own whether real or imagined @tyfordfever.