in 2005. The concept is analogous to keywords and keyphrases used by everyone when searching the web. In that case, words that central to the idea sought are typed into a search engine and pertinent webpages or other documents are the result. Erwords are similar. They are words associated with a defunct theory.
A classic example is the Ptolemaic system where Earth is the center of the universe. An errwords intimately linked to this theory is Epicycles.Any article that still mentioned epicycles would be suspect. Like keyword results, nothing should be taken at face value. If you discover that words and phrases in one subject are similar to those found in an erroneous idea or discredited theory, this does not prove that this current theory is also erroneous. However, it does present areas to question. A more recent example is the word plaque. For a long time it has been known that dental plaque is caused by oral bacteria. Who would have thought that these same bacteria cause arterial plaque? What other plaque is infectious in origin? One way to start is to look at errphrases earlier associated with arterial plaque and see where else they turn up.
Chris Yukna
Science General
