Make Your Point > Archived Issues > SCIOLISM

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explore the archives: Consider how we often take a word like duck and add a suffix to make a smaller version: duckling. Just like how burro becomes burrito and organ becomes organelle. These cute little suffixes are diminutive: they make concepts smaller. So take the Latin scius, meaning "knowing," add a diminutive suffix, and you get sciolus: "a person who knows only a little bit." Now you see how today's English word, sciolism, means "only a little bit of knowledge: superficial knowledge that pretends to be deep." But back up to scius again, Latin for "knowing." That's where we get the word science. And __science, the total absence of knowledge. Sciolism falls between the two. make your point with... "SCIOLISM" Sciolism is shallow knowledge that people have even though they act like they have deep knowledge. Pronunciation: SIGH uh liz um Part of speech: Uncountable noun. (Like "milk," "rice," and "education," uncountable nouns are words for stuff that can’t be broken into exact units. You talk about "some milk," "the rice," and "a lot of education," but you don’t say "a milk," "three rices," or "many educations." Likewise, talk about "the sciolism," "such sciolism," "a lot of sciolism," "no sciolism," and so on, but don’t say "sciolisms.") Other forms: A sciolist is a person who has superficial knowledge but pretends to be deeply knowledgeable. The adjective is sciolistic; you can use it to describe both people and things. How to use it: Because "sciolism" is an insulting word, we should use it with care. The reason I'm sharing this word with you is not to encourage you to mock people who act like they know everything; it's to help you talk (and think) about that very common, very human problem of believing we understand things deeply when we don't--and wanting others to believe we do. With that in mind, you might talk about someone's sciolism, or the sciolism of someone. A person or group of people might tend toward sciolism; certain speeches or publications might reek of sciolism; certain books or shows might foster sciolism, etc. "Sciolism" is especially useful for antithetical statements: you can point out what is knowledge vs. what is sciolism, what is scholarship vs. what is sciolism, or what is wisdom vs. what is sciolism. examples: She wrote confidently about a serious topic without bothering to research it first. The result: a cringe-worthy paper full of sciolistic theorizing. The narrator of the show eagerly identifies extant mysteries and gray areas, avoiding any appearance of sciolism. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "sciolism" means when you can explain it without saying "a show of shallow knowledge" or "pretend intelligence." try it out: If someone were more concerned about looking smart than actually becoming smarter, what's something specific that he or she would do? Fill in the blanks: "A sciolist would rather _____ than _____." Example: "A sciolist would rather make up a fascinating answer to a question than admit to not knowing it." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. This month, we're playing with rhyming puzzles as we review previous words.  Examples: Someone who belts out songs in church with great gusto has ____ ___. Answer: hymn vim. And the barbecue place where you always meet up with your friends from Dallas and Houston is your _____ _____. Answer: Texas nexus. The puzzles, and their answers, will get longer and sillier as the month goes on. Click or mouse-over the link to the clue if you need it, and see each answer the following day. Enjoy! From yesterday: In an effort to quit putting things off for later, we've made a detailed list of reasons and excuses we won't use anymore. That list is our _______________ ___________. (Two words of five syllables each. Clue: use a form of this word.) Answer: procrastination delineation. Try this today: You needed a certain random little tool for the kitchen (let's say, a funnel or a pineapple corer--it doesn't matter), so your buddy Rodney let you borrow one. It works fine and you don't care that it doesn't match any of your other kitchen stuff. It's your ___-____ _______. (Two words of two syllables each. The first word has a hyphen. Clue: use this word.) review today's word: 1. One opposite of SCIOLISM is A. STRUCTURE B. EXPERTISE C. BANALITY 2. Some sciolist tried to convince me that _____. A. I couldn't survive another year without buying her product B. the president was secretly an alien reptile in disguise C. our economy could be fixed with her simple plan Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. C