26 Oct Coolest lingo
Yesterday I got in the mail this month’s issue of Wired. I love that magazine. It is great entertainment but one that keeps my brain cells alight and it is forward looking, always looking for the latest trend, the next, and the one after the next. 
Anyway, in it there was this little chart, mapping out lingo in natural sciences. To Wired editors, physics has the coolest one.
| Physics | Chemistry | Geology | Biology | Mathematics | |
| Ongoing mysteries | God particle, arrow of time, cosmic rays | Solvolysis of the norbonylcation, better-than-perfect enzymes | Origin of dolomite, plate tectonics | Bio-electro magnetism, epigenetics, consciousness | P versus NP, number of magic squares |
| Famous practitioners | Hippolyte Fizeau, Niels Bohr, Albert Einstein | Odd Hassel, Melvin Calvin | William Conybeare, Xenophanes, Pliny the Younger | Watson and Crick, Paracelsus | Pythagoras, Euclid, Gauss |
| Tools of the trade | Laser, particle accelerator, gyroscope | Bunsen burner, test tube, periodic table | Auger, seismometer, GPS-linked ground monitoring stations | Miscroscope, centrifuge, DNA microarray | Calculator, protractor, slide rule |
| Key terms and concepts | Ultraviolet, catastrophe, time cube, cosmic inflation | Stoichiometry, meniscus, transmutation | Vulcanology, faunal succession, archeobotanics | TATA box, liverwort, Golgi bodies, flagellum | Vector, incompleteness theorem, hairy ball theorem |
I admit it is kind of difficult to be cooler than those, but, hell, even we international lawyers have our cool terms. My choice is…. (keeping in mind the cool effect, like Wired)
Ongoing mysteries: conflicting international jurisdictions; compliance with international law; natural law v. positive law; common but differentiated responsibility.
Famous practitioners: Hugo van de Groot; Hans Kelsen; Carlos Calvo; Oscar Schachter.
Tools of the Trade: Treaties; States; United Nations.
Key terms and concepts: sovereignty; jus cogens; opinio juris; pacta sunt servanda; non refoulement; international regime.
And you, what do you propose?
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.