Your Guide to the Year in Science: 2008

Word Watch

It's obscure geek speak now, but by 2009, even your mom will be fluent.-Kalee Thompson

ANTHROPOCENE (n.)

The most recent epoch in Earth's history, during which humans first began to affect the planet's climate and ecology. Approximately 1800 through the present.

BLOGICAL (adj.)

Illogical ramblings found online. See also, blogic (n.).

CARBON JUSTICE (n.)

The fair distribution of responsibility for addressing climate change, used in reference to the idea that countries should be required to curb CO2 emissions in proportion to their population and per-capita CO2 output. Additionally, a country's ability to pay would determine their overall responsibility.

CLOUD COMPUTING (n.)

Large-scale distributed computing services available over the Internet. The clusters (or "clouds") of computers give individual institutions or businesses ultrafast computing power without the high-maintenance server rooms.

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES (n.)

The value a healthy ecosystem offers humans or a local economy (calculated in dollars), providing an economic incentive to protect fragile habitats. For example, an insect called a lacewing furnishes a crucial ecosystem service in the U.S., eating corn earworms, aphids and other pests. Farmers who protect lacewing habitats will save money by cutting back on using conventional pesticides.

EXERGAMING (n.)

The action of playing videogames that do double duty as exercise regimens.

FUD (n.)

Acronym for "fear, uncertainty and doubt," often used to describe the efforts of companies to disparage or undermine the soon-to-be-released products of competitors.

GROUND-TRUTHING (v.)

Investigating in person the nature of geographical hotspots identified through remote imaging. As in, "After we tentatively identified at least one new kind of Chinese nuclear submarine on Google Earth, we'd still require ground-truthing to confirm its capabilities."

PHYSMATICS (n.)

Used to describe the increasingly blurry line between physics and mathematics. See also physmatician: "Brian Greene's book The Elegant Universe made him into the most famous physmatician since Stephen Hawking."

WITRICITY (n.)

Electricity transferred wirelessly between electromagnetic coils resonating at the same frequency. Though not yet practical, the technology could someday eliminate that rats' nest of cords behind your desk.

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