sciencey
Vaguely technical-sounding
Sciencey describes something that has the appearance or trappings of science without necessarily being rigorous or legitimate.
The word often carries a dismissive or skeptical tone: The documentary had a sciencey veneer but was mostly speculation.
It can also describe an aesthetic—lab coats, beakers, technical jargon—that evokes science superficially: The ad had a sciencey feel with all those charts and graphs.
Testable proposed explanation
- conjectureGuess from limited facts
- postulateAssumed starting point
- theoremDemonstrated logical conclusion
- quantumSmallest discrete unit
relativity · cosmology · multiverse · entropy · simulation · paradigm · equations · blackboard
Sudden important advance
- technologyApplied scientific methods
- inventionNew device or method
- biotechApplied biological engineering
- nanotechEngineering at molecular scale
prototype · cutting-edge · robotics · genomics · cybernetics · sci-fi · ray-gun · teleportation
Systematic fact-finding effort
- professorSenior university teacher
- dissertationExtended academic treatise
- thesisAcademic argument requiring defense
- journalRecord of daily events
publication · citation · academia · lecture · seminar · university · scholarly · curriculum
Testable proposed explanation
- experimentationSystematic testing of ideas
- observationAttentive watching or remark
- measurementDetermining size or amount
- variablesChangeable elements in equations
testing · laboratory · beaker · microscope · data · evidence · trial · sample
hypothesis
Testable proposed explanation
- conjectureGuess from limited facts
- postulateAssumed starting point
- theoremDemonstrated logical conclusion
quantum · relativity · cosmology · multiverse · entropy · simulation · paradigm · equations · blackboard · formulae
breakthrough
Sudden important advance
- technologyApplied scientific methods
- inventionNew device or method
- biotechApplied biological engineering
nanotech · prototype · cutting-edge · robotics · genomics · cybernetics · sci-fi · ray-gun · teleportation · hovercraft
research
Systematic fact-finding effort
- professorSenior university teacher
- dissertationExtended academic treatise
- thesisAcademic argument requiring defense
journal · publication · citation · academia · lecture · seminar · university · scholarly · curriculum · methodology
hypothesis
Testable proposed explanation
- experimentationSystematic testing of ideas
- observationAttentive watching or remark
- measurementDetermining size or amount
variables · testing · laboratory · beaker · microscope · data · evidence · trial · sample · results
scienceyrigorous
Extremely thorough and careful
peer-reviewed · evidence-based · substantive · robust · serious
scienceyunscientific
Not following proper methodology
mystical · spiritual · intuitive · faith-based · anti-scientific
- science museumInstitution displaying natural phenomena
- science fictionSpeculative fiction with technological themes
- rocket scienceSpacecraft propulsion engineering
- science fairStudent experiment competition
- junk scienceFaulty claims dressed as research
- science experimentMethodical investigation testing hypotheses
science, sciences, pseudoscience, neuroscience, conscience, omniscience, prescience