Technobabble
Encyclopedia
Technobabble also called technospeak, is a form of prose using jargon
, buzzword
s, esoteric language, specialized technical terms, or technical slang that is incomprehensible to the listener. Various fields of practice and industry have their own specialized vocabularies (jargon) that allow those educated within that industry to concisely convey ideas that may be confusing, misleading, or nonsensical to an outside listener. So while a lay person listening to a discussion of a current research topic in mathematics may describe it as technobabble, to the mathematician, it is completely comprehensible and thus not technobabble. The key differentiator is the point of view of the listener. Technobabble can be used dishonestly to give an impression of plausibility through mystification, misdirection, and obfuscation
.
, the title of a 1977 book by Richard Rosen, and an entry credited to Rosen in the Random House Unabridged Dictionary.” As an early example of the word's use, Barry cites the title of a 1984 article by David Roth in Franson's Business Report on Technology: "William Safire, Eat Your Dictionary; Here Comes Technobabble."
Technobabble's principal use in most science fiction, in particular more hard science fiction
, is to conceal the true (impossible) nature of materials, technologies, or devices mentioned in the story, frequently because of a violation regarding the current understanding regarding the laws of physics
. As reality and somewhat serious projections about the future are important in hard sci-fi, technobabble can give the impression of new discoveries rendering our current understanding of how the universe works "wrong". For example, despite the general impression regarding what Special Theory of Relativity says about traveling faster than light it can be done via wormhole
s--technobabble provides an "enabling device" to provide the impression that this current understanding was "limited" or "flawed" without actually having to explain how or why.
Technobabble also occurs in soft science fiction
, although here it is frequently just a throw-away part of the world and not dwelt on. Soft sci-fi generally prefers unobtainium
or handwavium to technobabble, as it is less taxing on the reader and fits with the setting of telling a story in a sci-fi setting as opposed to telling a story about partially fictional science.
was said to be powered by a "flux capacitor", which has no meaning outside the context of the movie. A specialised form of technobabble known as Treknobabble
was devised for the various long-running Star Trek
television programs and movies, which relied upon quasi-scientific solutions to dramatic problems. Other science fiction
movies and literature have their own form of technobabble. This is often because the concepts and items being talked about are fictional, but necessary for the story.
A second form of technobabble comes from the practice of taking an otherwise simple concept and describing it in a scientifically overworked manner to mask its inherent simplicity (see: Sesquipedalian Obscurantism). One well-known example is the dihydrogen monoxide hoax
, describing the supposedly dangerous characteristics of ordinary water
by labelling the substance with its esoteric chemical name.
Some forms of technobabble have the goal of intentionally convincing the reader that the science explained is true even though it may not be. One such example is Alan Sokal
's "Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity
" (1996), in which Sokal submitted a seemingly real, but nonsensical, paper to the Journal Social Text
in order to show that a supposedly serious journal in postmodern theory would accept a meaningless paper if it used sufficiently impenetrable language.
Jargon
Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...
, buzzword
Buzzword
A buzzword is a term of art, salesmanship, politics, or technical jargon that is used in the media and wider society outside of its originally narrow technical context....
s, esoteric language, specialized technical terms, or technical slang that is incomprehensible to the listener. Various fields of practice and industry have their own specialized vocabularies (jargon) that allow those educated within that industry to concisely convey ideas that may be confusing, misleading, or nonsensical to an outside listener. So while a lay person listening to a discussion of a current research topic in mathematics may describe it as technobabble, to the mathematician, it is completely comprehensible and thus not technobabble. The key differentiator is the point of view of the listener. Technobabble can be used dishonestly to give an impression of plausibility through mystification, misdirection, and obfuscation
Obfuscation
Obfuscation is the hiding of intended meaning in communication, making communication confusing, wilfully ambiguous, and harder to interpret.- Background :Obfuscation may be used for many purposes...
.
Origins
The Oxford Companion to the English Language defines technobabble as: “An informal term for the use or overuse of technical jargon.” John A. Barry, in the introduction to Technobabble (MIT Press, 1991), says that “the word connotes meaningless chatter about technology” but “is also a form of communication among people in the rapidly advancing computer and other high-technology industries.” As Barry notes in Technobabble, “The word first cropped up in the early 1980s, derived from or inspired by psychobabblePsychobabble
Psychobabble is a form of prose using jargon, buzzwords and highly esoteric language to give an impression of plausibility through mystification, misdirection, and obfuscation. The term implies that the speaker of psychobabble lacks the experience and understanding necessary for proper use of a...
, the title of a 1977 book by Richard Rosen, and an entry credited to Rosen in the Random House Unabridged Dictionary.” As an early example of the word's use, Barry cites the title of a 1984 article by David Roth in Franson's Business Report on Technology: "William Safire, Eat Your Dictionary; Here Comes Technobabble."
Common uses
Authors and others who wish to convey a feeling of technical sophistication may write or talk in technobabble. They may use jargon without considering what it actually means to give an impression that they know things that their readers or listeners do not. However, if the jargon is decoded, it becomes apparent that the originator does not really understand what has been said or is deliberately being unclear. When used in this way, technobabble is considered pretentious and often unacceptable. If used inappropriately, even novice listeners can often detect that nonsense is being spouted forth.Technobabble's principal use in most science fiction, in particular more hard science fiction
Hard science fiction
Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, or on scientific accuracy, or on both. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell, Jr.'s Islands of Space in Astounding Science...
, is to conceal the true (impossible) nature of materials, technologies, or devices mentioned in the story, frequently because of a violation regarding the current understanding regarding the laws of physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
. As reality and somewhat serious projections about the future are important in hard sci-fi, technobabble can give the impression of new discoveries rendering our current understanding of how the universe works "wrong". For example, despite the general impression regarding what Special Theory of Relativity says about traveling faster than light it can be done via wormhole
Wormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
s--technobabble provides an "enabling device" to provide the impression that this current understanding was "limited" or "flawed" without actually having to explain how or why.
Technobabble also occurs in soft science fiction
Soft science fiction
Soft science fiction, or soft SF, like its complementary opposite hard science fiction, is a descriptive term that points to the role and nature of the science content in a science fiction story...
, although here it is frequently just a throw-away part of the world and not dwelt on. Soft sci-fi generally prefers unobtainium
Unobtainium
In engineering, fiction, and thought experiments, unobtainium is any extremely rare, costly, or impossible material, or device needed to fulfill a given design for a given application. The properties of any particular unobtainium depend on the intended use...
or handwavium to technobabble, as it is less taxing on the reader and fits with the setting of telling a story in a sci-fi setting as opposed to telling a story about partially fictional science.
Forms
There are several forms of technobabble. One form, mostly used in fiction, depends on jargon and story features that are specific to or even exclusive to the story's universe. Stringing together a series of these elements to explain a problem or solution allows the author to easily craft a situation without having to depend on real-world laws to correlate to or confirm it. For example, the time travel device in the 1985 comedy drama film Back to the FutureBack to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
was said to be powered by a "flux capacitor", which has no meaning outside the context of the movie. A specialised form of technobabble known as Treknobabble
Treknobabble
Treknobabble is a portmanteau of "Star Trek" and "technobabble". It is used humorously by fans of the various Star Trek television series, and disparagingly by its critics, to describe the infamous amount of pseudoscientific gibberish packed into many episodes.Writers on The Next Generation and...
was devised for the various long-running Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
television programs and movies, which relied upon quasi-scientific solutions to dramatic problems. Other science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
movies and literature have their own form of technobabble. This is often because the concepts and items being talked about are fictional, but necessary for the story.
A second form of technobabble comes from the practice of taking an otherwise simple concept and describing it in a scientifically overworked manner to mask its inherent simplicity (see: Sesquipedalian Obscurantism). One well-known example is the dihydrogen monoxide hoax
Dihydrogen monoxide hoax
In the dihydrogen monoxide hoax, water is called by an unfamiliar name, "dihydrogen monoxide", followed by a listing of real negative effects of this chemical, in an attempt to convince people that it should be carefully regulated, labeled as hazardous, or banned...
, describing the supposedly dangerous characteristics of ordinary water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
by labelling the substance with its esoteric chemical name.
Some forms of technobabble have the goal of intentionally convincing the reader that the science explained is true even though it may not be. One such example is Alan Sokal
Alan Sokal
Alan David Sokal is a professor of mathematics at University College London and professor of physics at New York University. He works in statistical mechanics and combinatorics. To the general public he is best known for his criticism of postmodernism, resulting in the Sokal affair in...
's "Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity
Sokal Affair
The Sokal affair, also known as the Sokal hoax, was a publishing hoax perpetrated by Alan Sokal, a physics professor at New York University. In 1996, Sokal submitted an article to Social Text, an academic journal of postmodern cultural studies...
" (1996), in which Sokal submitted a seemingly real, but nonsensical, paper to the Journal Social Text
Social Text
Social Text is an academic journal published by Duke University Press. Since its inception as an independent editorial collective in 1979, Social Text has addressed a wide range of social and cultural phenomena, covering questions of gender, sexuality, race, and the environment...
in order to show that a supposedly serious journal in postmodern theory would accept a meaningless paper if it used sufficiently impenetrable language.
See also
- Bogdanov AffairBogdanov AffairThe Bogdanov Affair is an academic dispute regarding the legitimacy of a series of theoretical physics papers written by French twins Igor and Grichka Bogdanov . These papers were published in reputable scientific journals, and were alleged by their authors to culminate in a proposed theory for...
- HomeopathyHomeopathyHomeopathy is a form of alternative medicine in which practitioners claim to treat patients using highly diluted preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient...
- Neologism
- Rubber scienceRubber scienceRubber Science is a tongue-in-cheek science fiction term describing a quasi-scientific explanation for an aspect of a science fiction setting. Rubber science explanations are fictional but sound convincing enough to avoid upsetting the suspension of disbelief. Rubber science is a feature of most...
- Mumbai CallingMumbai CallingMumbai Calling is a British-Indian comedy series, starring Sanjeev Bhaskar, set in the fictional Teknobable call centre in Mumbai. The series was shot on location in India. The pilot first aired on ITV on 30 May 2007...
- Sokal AffairSokal AffairThe Sokal affair, also known as the Sokal hoax, was a publishing hoax perpetrated by Alan Sokal, a physics professor at New York University. In 1996, Sokal submitted an article to Social Text, an academic journal of postmodern cultural studies...
- TreknobabbleTreknobabbleTreknobabble is a portmanteau of "Star Trek" and "technobabble". It is used humorously by fans of the various Star Trek television series, and disparagingly by its critics, to describe the infamous amount of pseudoscientific gibberish packed into many episodes.Writers on The Next Generation and...
- TurboencabulatorTurboencabulatorThe Turboencabulator or turbo-encabulator is a fictional machine whose alleged existence became an in-joke and subject of professional humor among engineers...
- FedspeakFedspeakIn monetary policy of the United States, the term Fedspeak is what Alan Blinder called "a turgid dialect of English" used by Federal Reserve Board chairmen in making intentionally wordy, vague, and ambiguous statements...
- BullshitBullshitBullshit is a common English expletive which may be shortened to the euphemism bull or the initialism B.S. In British English, "bollocks" is a comparable expletive, although bullshit is commonly used in British English...