Strictly Speaking


THEY WRITE                             |THEY MEAN
---------------------------------------+-------------------------------
It has long been known that...         |I haven't bothered to look up
                                       |the original reference

...of great theoretical and practical  |...interesting to me
importance                                     

While it has not been possible to      |The experiments didn't work
provide definite answers to these      |out, but I figured I could at
questions.                                 |least get a publication out 
                                       |of it.

The W-Pb system was chosen as          |The fellow in the next lab had 
especially suitable to show the        |some already made up
predicted behavior...

High purity...                         |Composition unknown except 
Very high purity...                    |for the exaggerated claims of 
Extremely high purity...               |the supplier 
Super-purity...                        |
Spectroscopically pure...              |

A fiducial reference line...           |A scratch

Three of the samples were              |The results of the others
chosen for detailed study...           |didn't make sense and were 
                                       |ignored..

...handled with extreme care during    |...not dropped on the floor 
the experiments                        |

Typical results are shown...           |The best results are shown...

Although some detail has been lost     |It is impossible to tell from 
in reproduction, it is clear from the  |the micrograph
original micrograph that...            |

Presumably at longer times...          |I didn't take the time to find out

The agreement with the predicted       |fair
curve is excellent                     |

good                                   |poor

satisfactory                           |doubtful

fair                                   |imaginary

...as good as could be expected        |non-existent

These results will be reported at      |I might get around to this 
a later date                           |sometime

The most reliable values are those     |He was a student of mine
of Jones                               |

It is suggested that...                |
It is believed that...                 |I think...
It may be that...                      |

It is generally believed that....      |I have such a good objection 
                                       |to this answer that I shall 
                                       |now raise it.

It is clear that much additional       |I don't understand it
work will be required before a         |
complete understanding...              |

Unfortunately, a quantitative theory   |Neither does anybody else
to account for these effects has not   |
been formulated                        |

Correct within an order of magnitude   |Wrong

It is to be hoped that this work       |This paper isn't very good
but will stimulate further work        |neither are any of the others
in the field                           |on this miserable subject

Thanks are due to Joe Glotz for        |Glotz did the work and Doe
assistance with the experiments and    |explained what it meant.
to John Doe for valuable discussions.  |


[Ed: Source: C.D. Graham Jr. Metal Progress, 71 pg 75 (1957)]