On cultivating an attitude of precision with language: An uncommon prescription for conditioning creative excellence in scientific discovery and education

Abstract

Investing years of intensive training, scientists ready themselves to make sense of the world. But are they prepared to make sense of a world of words? The aim of this paper is to explore the pivotal role that cultivating an attitude of precision with language could play in conditioning creative excellence in scientific discovery and education. First, the unexpected linkage between the processes of language precision and successful failure is explored. Next, an attempt is made to situate language precision within the creative process. Then, another potential dividend from developing exactitude with language is explored—the power of neologism. Finally, an attempt is made to construct a useful synthesis—one favoring a new educational prescription in which creative excellence in the sciences is informed and catalyzed by the humanities.