Make Your Point > Archived Issues > MYTH-INFORMATION
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pronounce
MYTH-INFORMATION:
Say it "MITH in fur MAY shun."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Relatively speaking, our word myth-information is still a baby. It was born in the 1960s.
So was the term kl___e, which means "anything that works well even though it was put together in a sloppy, complicated way." It's computer slang. Can you recall it?
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
"Myth-information" is a playful combination of "myth" ("lie, legend, or false story") and "misinformation" ("information that's wrong or misleading").
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it first popped up in 1966, in a Science article by Harold A. Foecke. He wrote, "I feel that some aspects of the problem [of continuing education for engineers] may have been exaggerated and that we may be blithely proceeding on the basis of some untested assumptions and 'myth-information.'"
Myth-information is information that's partly false, or totally false, even though many people believe it's true.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Noun, the uncountable kind: "It's nothing but myth-information;" "It was a bunch of myth-information."
Other forms:
none
how to use it:
"Myth-information" is one of those hilarious terms that's ultra-rare yet instantly understood. You could save yourself four syllables and simply call something a "myth"--or you could whip out this five-syllable synonym to get some laughs.
Personally, I'd use it in writing, but not speech. I wouldn't want to sound like I'm drunkenly slurring the word "misinformation."
You might label some belief or piece of advice as myth-information. Or, you might refer to people making choices based on myth-information. Or, you might point out how heaps of myth-information are burying the truth.
Some writers put quotes around this term, possibly not realizing that they're not the first to invent it. And some writers treat it as two separate words: "myth information."
examples:
"I believe that if parents have more accessible information, they may be more able to undertake a true risk assessment of vaccinations. Taking on the 'myth-information' of anti-vaxxers directly in sharp concise messages and calling them out by name will be more successful than general information on web sites."
— Gregory C Mason, The Conversation, 13 May 2019
"Myth-information in the age of COVID-19:... You don't get COVID-19 from beer, it's not caused by 5G towers, and it's not a bioweapon engineered by the Chinese or the American government."
— Dene Moore, The Orca, 11 April 2020
has this page helped you understand "myth-information"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "myth-information" without saying "common misconception" or "popular but mistaken belief."
try it out:
I'm a big fan of the book Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace, by Joseph M. Williams. He spends time in the opening chapters busting myth-information about good grammar. Certain "rules" of grammar are nothing but folklore, he explains, like the rule against starting a sentence with "because," and the rule against ending with a preposition. "A rule is folklore when vast numbers of otherwise careful readers and writers ignore it." Myth-information well-busted.
With those comments in mind as an example, talk about some other heap of myth-information that's been thoroughly busted. And who busted it? It might be a famous person (like a writer, a scientist, or those guys from MythBusters) or someone you know in real life.
If you're not sure, try skimming Wikipedia's list of common misconceptions.
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game for March is "Yup, that's a real word."
Check out the definition of a silly-sounding word--yes, a real one, from the Oxford English Dictionary--and see if you can come up with the word itself. To see the answer, scroll all the way down.
Here's an example: "This three-syllable noun ending in the -ship suffix (as in 'friendship' and 'fellowship') means 'skill in traversing snow.'" The answer is "snowmanship." (Yup, that’s a real word!)
Try this one today:
This four-syllable adjective means "different: of another type." Although it looks like the words "napkins" and "lambkins," it's more closely related to "kin," "kind," and "kindred."
review this word:
A. WHOLE-CLOTH LIES.
B. WELL-DOCUMENTED FACTS.
C. ACCURATE BUT MISLEADING CLUES.
2.
Wikipedia houses a fascinating list of bits of myth-information, like "_____."
A. how many prisoners have tried to escape from Alcatraz
B. how the black belt in martial arts always indicates mastery (not necessarily)
C. how the television character Dale Cooper hijacked a Boeing 727 aircraft, collected a hefty ransom, and parachuted into the sky to a likely death, never to be seen again
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Relatively speaking, our word myth-information is still a baby. It was born in the 1960s.
"Myth-information" is a playful combination of "myth" ("lie, legend, or false story") and "misinformation" ("information that's wrong or misleading").
Part of speech:
"Myth-information" is one of those hilarious terms that's ultra-rare yet instantly understood. You could save yourself four syllables and simply call something a "myth"--or you could whip out this five-syllable synonym to get some laughs.
"I believe that if parents have more accessible information, they may be more able to undertake a true risk assessment of vaccinations. Taking on the 'myth-information' of anti-vaxxers directly in sharp concise messages and calling them out by name will be more successful than general information on web sites."
Explain the meaning of "myth-information" without saying "common misconception" or "popular but mistaken belief."
I'm a big fan of the book Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace, by Joseph M. Williams. He spends time in the opening chapters busting myth-information about good grammar. Certain "rules" of grammar are nothing but folklore, he explains, like the rule against starting a sentence with "because," and the rule against ending with a preposition. "A rule is folklore when vast numbers of otherwise careful readers and writers ignore it." Myth-information well-busted.
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
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