4 Scientific Words You're Probably Using Wrong | What the Stuff?!

We all like to toss around words borrowed from science to class up our own speech - but chances are you're taking some very unscientific liberties with its usage. Here are 4 scientific terms you might be using wrong.

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A Serious Man (Joel & Ethan Coen, 2009) [Blackboard math proof]

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Transcript:
You know how most people’s grandparents sound when they try to use slang from the younger generation? That’s how you sound to scientists when you misuse these four words.

“Proof.” Can you prove that stars are made of hydrogen and not really, really hot honey butter? Well, no, but there’s overwhelming evidence for the whole hydrogen fusing into helium thing. The problem with using the term “proof” this way is that “proof” doesn’t exist in science. Proofs are final, and for that reason scientists like the evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa argue that they only exist in math and logic. Science deals in evidence; new evidence from the Honey Butter Solar Probe could always change our minds.

“Quantum.” Pop quiz: What does the word ‘quantum’ actually mean? And don’t bother using your ‘quantum consciousness’ to intuit the answer. Quantum mechanics is one of the greatest and weirdest discoveries of modern science, but the term “quantum” has been exploited by self-help authors trying to sell mysticism packaged in scientific-sounding terms. Even outside the self-help section, the word gets manhandled: A “quantum leap” is something like a “huge improvement,” right? But in physics, quanta aren’t huge: a quantum is the smallest indivisible unit of energy – like photons, the tiny particles or waves that make up light.

“Exponential.” If you could manage to increase your salary by $17,000 every two weeks that would be some exponential growth, right? It would be great, but, no, not exponential. People commonly equate the word “exponential,” with “rapid” or “really big.” It’s true that in some cases, exponential growth can get really big, really fast, but ultimately the size of the growth is irrelevant. Exponential growth is simply when the whole of a number increases in proportion to it. So if you have $100 in a savings account that gives you 1% interest one year, the next year you’ll earn another 1% interest, but it will be a higher amount. Why? Because on you are earning interest on $101 dollars this year - your original amount _plus_the extra 1% interest you earned last year. That’s exponential growth.

“Theory.” If you want to see a scientist pull some hair out, tell them that evolution or gravity is “just a theory.” In everyday use, theory is a belief or idea - but your buddy who has a theory that chili cheese is the greatest flavor combination humans have ever come up with is way off. In science, a theory is an explanation for why something happens. It’s sort of what happens when a hypothesis, which is testable guess at an explanation, graduates to the next level. This explanation has withstood repeated experimentation and has been found to hold water – it becomes a theory. Your buddy’s probably right about the chili cheese thing, but that’s an opinion, not a theory.

Which misused word drives you up the wall? Let us know in the comments and subscribe! And to learn about other science terms we’re constantly mangling, check out 10 Scientific Words You're Probably Using Wrong at HowStuffWorks!

[SeanLamb-I-Am]

The misused word that annoys me most is "decimate".  The original meaning is to remove one tenth of a group, not to completely destroy.

[zackaryhardin]

I hate it when people use the term velocity when they really mean speed

[ChileVerdeDavid]

I hate it when people say "literally" all the freaking time. 90% of the time it's wrong or they should be using "figuratively". It's mainly teenagers and kids though. But still.

[mollsewa]

I hate it when people misuse the word, "epic". An epic is a long narrative poem or story that is commonly centered around a character that preforms heroic deeds. It annoys me that society had dumbed down the word like people have with the word "awesome".

[kennethmccormick]

Thank you! I mean really thank you! I've spent hours explaining this to friends & strangers on internet. now I have something to show along with it.

[sethcoleman]

So I am wondering, this channel has a LOT of useful information, each video is interesting with high quality and high production value, as well as a well scripted approach to the information it provides. Yet there are not that many subscribers, views, or comments at all. In fact, this channel almost seems like it is not a main channel, but someone re-posting someone else's videos. It seems like a completely original channel, so why isn't it more popular? Or am I missing something?

[anitastuever]

"Obviously, " when people use it as a filler in speaking. I'm constantly shouting at the TV: "No! That is not obvious!"

[BariumCobaltNitrogn]

Complex and complicated are not the same, in fact they are the opposite. Complex is many similar things doing something simple, like a beehive or apartment complex, while complicated is many different things doing different things, like kids in a high school cafeteria or the UN.
Also decimate means remove 10% (deci) of the opposing force, not wipe out entirely.
Math and maths are short for mathematics but that word is not plural, so maths does not get to use that as an explanation. We've always said it makes more sense.

[geckoo]

Quantum leap is the jump that an electron does when changes orbit in an atom due to the emission or abortion of photons.

[ScreenFiends]

Great to see Christian Bale branching out.

[nathancamara]

I hate when people believe all chemicals are bad.

[roax]

I find it funny how the word atom(intended as the smallest particle) was derived from the latin word for indivisible yet we have found that atoms can be broken down into protons, neutrons and electrons which themselves can be broken down into quarks thus rendering the word along with the term 'chemical element' inaccurate.

[dittikke]

Random (meaning no clear explanation). Logical (meaning intuitive). 
Yes I misuse these words too, but I hate it when they're used in a mixed context.

[JustSumChillAlien]

Soo what does this mean for Quantum Computers? Will that be small?

[AtomikAnthony]

I use each of these words correctly, and I never knew that these were misused like this. One of the reasons is because I am a theoretical physicist, though, so in a way, I am cheating. Although this is not a scientific term, I hate it when people say 'Terrific' when they are meaning something exciting, when the actual meaning is full of terror, which I remember, I've always known the literal meaning of things from a very young child, and I cried in kindergarten when I was given a terrific sticker.

[SuperAtheist]

Breakfast is the meal that breaks your fast no matter what time of day it's eaten.

[phynos]

When classmates in math use the term derive in place of differentiate.

[pipedemon]

I was born in the french part of the world. "Niche" is the word i would like all anglos to start pronouncing properly. It is pronounced "neesh" not neetche. One is the house of a dog and by extention its place of comfort or proficiency. The other a German philosopher. It had to be said.  

[NKA]

Other examples would be "schizophrenia/schizophrenic", "psychopath", "psychotic", "pedophile/pedophilia". If you ask people, who have no expertise in psychology or psychiatry, chances are that they think what these terms mean, but actually have wrong believes about their meanings.

[AaronCross]

theres a couple  words i cant think of right now but recently there was some guy that would say 'quite the bit' instead of 'quite a bit' all the time it was pretty annoying