A new article caught my eye as I was getting my morning cup of coffee today. Published in Science Alert was a list of 100 misused words or phrases. The scientists want people to learn to use the words correctly. Some of the words on the list are technical and specific to science such as psychosomatic vs somatoform or Cronbach’s alpha vs homogeneity. However, some are rather interesting. Here are the ones I found informative:
· Subconscious vs unconscious
· Antisocial vs asocial
· Serial killer vs mass murderer
· Mediator vs moderator
· Disease vs illness
· Insanity vs incompetence
· Relapse vs recurrence
· Sensation vs perception
· Prejudice vs discrimination
· Sex vs gender
· Race vs ethnicity
· Conformity vs obedience
However, they did not include the most misused words, irregardless vs regardless, because irregardless is thought to be a blend of the words irrespective and regardless but actually has no different meaning than regardless.
Psychosomatic refers to physical illness caused by a mental factor such as stress, and somatoform disorders are psychological disorders in which a patient experiences physical symptoms. Cronbach’s alpha is a measure of internal consistency, while homogeneity is the quality or state of being all the same.
View the full article: http://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-a-list-of-100-words-scientists-really-want-you-to-stop-misusing