[Fwd: [GCFL] Mysterious Phrases Explained (finally!)]

[Richard.Barth]

At 11:21 PM 5/27/2001 -0400, you wrote:
>Do any of these sound familiar?

Very.  I see a lot of them in ITU submissions.

In the same vein, I noticed on the CNN weather report last night 
that the forecast for today is 27C (about 80 degrees F).  The 
forecast for Zurich is 17; for several other European countries
is in the teens; and for Durban, South Africa is 17.  Geneva is
obviously in the middle of a very large pool of hot air.

I wonder why.

Regards from the Far Side (of the pond),

Dick
	


>-------- Original Message --------
>Subject: [GCFL] Mysterious Phrases Explained (finally!)
>Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 03:25:26 -0500 (CDT)
>From: GCFL <gcfl-info@gcfl.net>
>Reply-To: gcfl-info@gcfl.net
>Organization: The Good, Clean Funnies List (GCFL.net)
>To: GCFL Subscriber <cfrivera08@netscape.net>
>
>The following list of phrases and their definitions might help you
>understand the mysterious language of science and medicine. These
>special phrases are also applicable to anyone reading a PhD
>dissertation or academic paper.
>
>"IT HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN"...I didn't look up the original reference.
>
>"A DEFINITE TREND IS EVIDENT"...These data are practically
>meaningless.
>
>"WHILE IT HAS NOT BEEN POSSIBLE TO PROVIDE DEFINITE ANSWERS TO THE
>QUESTIONS"...An unsuccessful experiment but I still hope to get it
>published.
>
>"THREE OF THE SAMPLES WERE CHOSEN FOR DETAILED STUDY"...The other
>results didn't make any sense.
>
>"TYPICAL RESULTS ARE SHOWN"...This is the prettiest graph.
>
>"THESE RESULTS WILL BE IN A SUBSEQUENT REPORT"...I might get around
>to this sometime, if pushed/funded.
>
>"IN MY EXPERIENCE"...Once.
>
>"IN CASE AFTER CASE"...Twice.
>
>"IN A SERIES OF CASES"...Thrice.
>
>"IT IS BELIEVED THAT"...I think.
>
>"IT IS GENERALLY BELIEVED THAT"...A couple of others think so, too.
>
>"CORRECT WITHIN AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE"...Wrong.
>
>"ACCORDING TO STATISTICAL ANALYSIS"...Rumor has it.
>
>"A STATISTICALLY-ORIENTED PROJECTION OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THESE
>FINDINGS"...A wild guess.
>
>"A CAREFUL ANALYSIS OF OBTAINABLE DATA"...Three pages of notes were
>obliterated when I knocked over a glass iced tea.
>
>"IT IS CLEAR THAT MUCH ADDITIONAL WORK WILL BE REQUIRED BEFORE A
>COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF THIS PHENOMENON OCCURS"...I don't
>understand it.
>
>"AFTER ADDITIONAL STUDY BY MY COLLEAGUES"...They don't understand it
>either.
>
>"THANKS ARE DUE TO JOE BLOTZ FOR ASSISTANCE WITH THE EXPERIMENT AND
>TO CINDY ADAMS FOR VALUABLE DISCUSSIONS"...Mr. Blotz did the work
>and Ms. Adams explained to me what it meant.
>
>"A HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT AREA FOR EXPLORATORY STUDY"...A totally
>useless topic selected by my committee.
>
>"IT IS HOPED THAT THIS STUDY WILL STIMULATE FURTHER INVESTIGATION IN
>THIS FIELD"...I quit.>
Richard Barth, temporarily in Geneva, Switzerland
Hotel Carlton:  +41 22 980-6850
GSM (cellular): +41 76 542-7269