just-so story
How the leopard got spots
A just-so story is an explanation that sounds plausible but can't be tested or verified—named after Rudyard Kipling's fanciful tales of how animals got their traits.
The term is often dismissive, especially in science, where it criticizes evolutionary or psychological explanations that fit the facts too neatly without real evidence: That's just a just-so story about why humans prefer sweet foods.
Impossible to prove wrong
- speculationUnproven theorizing or risky investment
- conjectureGuess from limited facts
- pseudoscientificPretending to be factual
- plausibilitySeeming likely true
circumstantial · unfounded · reverse engineering · backstory · fabrication · motivated reasoning · confirmation bias · hand-waving
Moral story with talking creatures
- moral taleStory conveying ethical instruction
- anthropomorphicHaving human characteristics
- talking animalsFauna gifted with speech
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
parable · cautionary tale · folklore · fairy tale · Aesop · trickster tale · whimsical · fantastical
Study of adapted minds
- sociobiologyStudy of inherited social behaviors
- natural selectionDifferential reproductive success
- illustrated talesStories with images
- British IndiaCrown-ruled subcontinent territory
- animal talesStories starring creatures
- The Jungle BookColonial-era animal fables
unfalsifiable
Impossible to prove wrong
- speculationUnproven theorizing or risky investment
- conjectureGuess from limited facts
- pseudoscientificPretending to be factual
plausibility · circumstantial · unfounded · reverse engineering · backstory · fabrication · motivated reasoning · confirmation bias · hand-waving
animal fable
Moral story with talking creatures
- moral taleStory conveying ethical instruction
- anthropomorphicHaving human characteristics
- talking animalsFauna gifted with speech
allegory · parable · cautionary tale · folklore · fairy tale · Aesop · trickster tale · whimsical · fantastical · make-believe
evolutionary psychology
Study of adapted minds
- sociobiologyStudy of inherited social behaviors
- natural selectionDifferential reproductive success
Rudyard Kipling
- illustrated talesStories with images
- British IndiaCrown-ruled subcontinent territory
- animal talesStories starring creatures
origin myth
Story explaining first beginnings
- cosmogonyStudy of universal origins
- moral talesfable, parable, allegory, moral fables, moral fable
just-so storyhard evidence
experimental result · controlled study · scientific consensus
just-so storypredictive model
System estimating future outcomes
deductive reasoning · hypothesis testing · controlled experiment · logical proof · null hypothesis
story, stories, storied, storybook, storyteller, storybooks, storytelling, storyboard, storyboards