Jim Gerdeen, Professor Emeritus, Mechanical Engineering
University of Colorado at Denver
The above names may describe some research professors. Let me explain.
A weasel is a small animal that is difficult to spot and that can evade you easily. A weasel can suck the contents out of an egg and leave the shell intact. The expression “weasel words” have come to mean superficial words like “shells” that hide the lack of content.
Without Admitting Mistakes
As a young research engineer writing proposals, I was taught how to use weasel words. For example, say “it is expected that” instead of promising something definite that you may not achieve. Or in a research report one should never apologize for slow progress or admit lack of success, but one should ask how we can say this positively without admitting our mistakes.
Now it is true that doing research is risky, because by definition research results are not always predictable, otherwise we would not have to do the research. There is a fine line here between being honest and shading the truth.
Then there are “waxed wannabes” that are images of the real thing. The apostle Paul prays in Phil.1:9-11 that we Christians would be “sincere and blameless until the day of Christ”. In Greek “sincere” means something that can be examined in the light of the sun and found not to have a single flaw… Our English word sincere comes from Latin and is a combination of sine (without) and cera (wax). A merchant would patch a flaw in a glass vessel with wax and try to sell it as perfect.
There may be “waxed wannabes” in research reports and proposals, research results that have been waxed or embellished. I remember my failure to obtain a research grant from the government when responding to a RFP. I thought I was an expert on the subject and knew everything that had been done.
The Price of Honesty
A competitor who was awarded the contract had listed in their proposal a paper of theirs as a reference with “3D analysis” in the title, and I knew that the paper only contained a 1D analysis with 3D mentioned as future work. One pays a price to be honest, but it is best to be “sincere and blameless until the day of Christ”.
As research professors let us avoid the temptation of “political spin”. Politicians and diplomats have mastered the art of saying one thing in public while hiding the true thought in their minds. Let’s be like the German pastor Martin Kähler who prayed before entering the pulpit: “Cause my mind to fear whether my heart means what I say”.
Are you transparent when held in the “Son light”? Let’s walk in the light as He is in the light and the blood of Jesus will keep us clean from all sin”, I John 1:7.
© 2006 Jim Gerdeen