Two sciences separated by a common language

When I'm not writing for Ars, one of the things I do is teach at Stony Brook University's Center for Communicating Science. The Center offers various programs that help scientists communicate with both the public and each other, ranging from improv classes run by the theater school to writing courses run by journalists. The goal is to help scientists form personal connections with whomever they're speaking to and speak cogently about the topic at hand. The same general approaches apply if you're speaking to another scientist, a fourth grader, or an informed interviewer like Alan Alda (who was inspired to help create the Center after interviewing scientists for a series of PBS specials).

One thing that gets in the way of this communication is jargon. Jargon is shorthand that helps people in a field communicate with each other. Needless to say, it can be a huge problem when communicating with the public. But jargon can also be a problem when you're talking to other scientists. Not only is some of this niche speak meaningless outside its specific field, but in other fields it can sometimes mean something else entirely.

While talking over this problem at Stony Brook the other day, we started trying to come up with examples. One I thought of is CTL. If you're an immunologist, CTL means cytotoxic T lymphocyte. If you do mouse genetics, CTL means curly-tail like. In flies, it's coatless, a completely unrelated gene. After struggling to think up other examples, we turned to Twitter. People came through with the following list, which I've edited only lightly for clarity.

• CMB: Cosmic microwave background and core-mantle boundary
• PCB: Printed circuit board and polychlorinated biphenyl
• PCR: Polymerase chain reaction, pathological complete response, principal component regression (stats), and periodic current reversal
• SR: In psychology, "stimulus / response"; in neurobiology, "stretch receptor"
• PKD: Protein kinase D and polycistic kidney disease
• DNR: Domain name registration and "do not resuscitate"
• PDF: Probability distribution function and portable document format
• AMS: Alpha magnetic spectrometer and American Math Society
• bZIP: Basic leucine zipper domain has nothing to do with bZIP file compression
• DNA: In molecular biology, deoxyribonucleic acid; in statistics, dynamic network analysis
• ROM: Rough order of magnitude and read only memory
• RT: Reverse transcriptase and real time (as in RT PCR), both molecular biology terms, and room temperature (or retweet, of course)
• AI: Artificial intelligence in computer science and artificial insemination in animal agriculture (was very confused in a couple of conversations)
• STD: Subscriber trunk dialing and sexually transmitted disease
• ATM: Automatic teller machine and asynchronous transfer mode
• OCD: Osteochondral defect and obsessive compulsive disorder
• DOM: Document object model to Web developers and "days on market" to real estate people
• CBT: Computer based training and cognitive behavioral therapy
• ICP: Intracranial pressure and idiopathic chronic pancreatitis
• RF: Radio frequency in engineering and reduced fat in food
• TRP: Transient receptor potential and tryptophan
• ASD: Autistic spectrum disorder for neurologists and atrial septal defect for cardiologists
• BPD: Bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and biparietal diameter
• THF: tetrahydrofuran (a solvent in organic chemistry) and tetrahydrofolate (a cofactor in biochemistry)
• IP: Intellectual property, Internet protocol, and inositol phosphate (I've seen the abbreviation being replaced by the wrong one for that last term)
• "Vector" in mathematics, engineering, and the physical sciences versus its meaning in epidemiology and infectious diseases.
• "Transformation" (biological) in microbiology means to take in foreign DNA, but in oncology it means "to become a tumor cell"
• "Activation" for a synthetic/biochemist is forming a reactive species versus kinetics (activation entropy) for a physical chemist
• "Metallicity" as astronomers use the term for stars is totally different from how geologists use it for rocks
• "Static" meanings differ in electrical versus mechanical versus programming
• "Entropy" in information theory and in thermodynamics
• "High resolution" means something quite distinct to everyone
• "Toxins" in biology are harmful substances produced by bacteria, but in chemistry they are substances that inhibit reactions
• "Peas" can mean Green Pea galaxies, but that would confuse biologists in casual conversation
• In biology versus physics: fission, fusion, nucleus, and plasma all mean different things

(We're sure you can expand on this list; please do so in the comments.)

Even a small list like this highlights how difficult it is for scientists to communicate well with each other. You have to be conscious when you're using jargon that the other person may not understand and be aware that words you take for granted could mean something entirely different to them. If it's that tough to get things right when talking to other scientists, imagine the challenges involved when talking to the public.