The cut to Prof. Poliakoff made me laugh

The most important fact is being ignored here: Teenagers don’t read tabloids.

I'm in agreement with whatever Professor Ed Copeland has to say on the matter. He's my favourite Sixty Symbols boffin.

Many Boffins died to bring us this information... 😢

A **FAR** bigger problem is 'journalists' misrepresenting science because they don't understand it. This 'boffin debate' is just a pointless distraction.

When I started at Southampton University in 1983 (interestingly, Nottingham was my other choice!), I quickly acquired "Boffin" as a nickname. The reason I needed a nickname was that I was one of four guys in a shared kitchen who were ALL called Mike :) And the reason I was "Boffin Mike" was purely and simply this: I owned a ZX Spectrum. In those days, having a computer made you some sort of mysterious science wizard.

Should have labeled him "Martyn Poliakoff, boffin"

Took me a while to realise that 'clever' in the English school system was not a compliment but was viewed with a certain degree of suspicion. 'Bright' was the description you really wanted.

I genuinely find the Daily Star front page to be fascinating as a cultural artefact. The word boffin comes up a surprising amount, as do references to sitcom catchphrases from at least 35 years ago.

On one hand, "Boffin" really does carry disparaging connotations. But I fear the semantic treadmill will keep on turning, no matter what the hacks and journos write or the punters read.

Being targeted by the Daily Star, is a universally admitted sign, that you are doing something right.

As a British physicist... I'm pretty disappointed in the IOP for putting so much effort into this campaign to be honest. As Dr Chapman says here, with all of the other problems both within academia and with its relationship with the public... is this really the best use of the IOP's time, budget, and access to the national attention span, all of which are limited quantities? The Daily Star posting headlines about boffins finding UFOs isn't what puts off kids from under-represented groups from choosing careers in science...

In American slang, "boffing" is a verb whose definition makes those headlines very funny.

This is the very first time I've ever heard of this term.

I'm only familiar with the term from James Burke's "Connections" shows, which I absolutely inhaled as a child. As an American, it's hard to imagine the term being seen as - or used as - disparagement. But then, there have been a few cases of pretty extreme and unexpected reactions from one side of the pond or another when a certain word has cultural weight people from the other side were unaware of.

I remember in my childhood how when I started aspiring to become a scientist, I then got to know about this boffin stereotype, and felt like I would have to become this nerdy guy to be a scientist, which seriously made me consider other options, and I've only returned to this scientist idea in my uni years. So this notion had a real impact on me. I would say have an un-nerdy character and appearence. But I still like science a lot! And it's ok to not look like a scientist but still be one. And this thought is in particular important for children, as my own experience confirms.

Emma's perspective was an interesting one that I wasn't expecting. Also, I would so much rather be a boffin than a nerd. A boffin can be a nerd but not necessarily the other way around. I get the impression that the big difference is a boffin is someone who actually _does_ something practical with her/her knowledge, whereas a nerd is just simply strongly passionate (perhaps even obsessive) about what they know. A boffin's stereotypical appearance is because of prioritizing their work over their health/aesthetic, whereas a nerd's stereotypical appearance is often just due to being socially inept.

When I was at school in the 90s I was one of the smart kids and so was referred to disparagingly as a "boff", so I should probably want it banned too but I agree with all of Brady's counter-arguments to Prof. Moriarty, it's a pointless exercise and just paints those joyless boffins in a bad light for complaining about it. There are so many once benign words that have developed or been assigned negative connotations over the decades, it's tiring seeing the constant dancing back and forth about words and their apparently evolving meanings when the culture is the problem and banning a word changes nothing about that. Other bad words for scientists will likely just take their place. The bit about them being called "weirdos" just highlights that, it's an even more generic word so you have even less standing to complain about and control that. I really feel like being up in arms about the particular usage of particular words like that's where the strength in language is held and thinking that squashing it like a bug would fix the problem just has the whole understanding of the relationship between culture and language backwards. It's so frustrating seeing so many control freaks in positions of power waste time on it in recent years.

Prof. Moriarty has a point but I'm not sure it's worth getting worked up about. The general muddying of the water that the mainstream press does when it comes to helping the public understand science is a much bigger issue.

There is no surer way to boost the insulting power of a word than to admonish everyone not to use it

Classic Boffin topic

Thanks to this video and the petition I learnt a new word that, as a boffin, I'm going to start using! Thanks!

7:56 is exactly it. There are bigger problems with the media and science, but this is one more thing that drives a wedge.

"boffin" is a symptom of the larger problem which Moriarty addresses at the end: that scientists are being dehumanized by journalists

I like how the Mirror took a good hard look at themselves, while the Star talked about aliens...

Where I'm from calling someone a boffin is the most sincere form of flattery from a non-technical person to a technical person.

I can undestand physicists not being bothered by the term - I second the "we owned nerd" statement - but it is soo bizarre to see a petition to keep using the word espacially, as pointed out, with the last sentence. People will go above and beyond to fight for their 'right' to use a slightly more creative version of what in essence means "freak"... Edit: What Emma describes at 6:05 is probably also a strong reason for a lot of minorities in science to seemingly "care less" and it's so sad to have that....

Although I wouldn’t expect it to be used in a serious situation, I always found it to be a term of endearment

Boffins? - leave the nerdy brainiacs alone! I mean ,fair play to all them eggheaded dateless wonders. One unscrambled my kids rubix cube for him in like no time. We was so impressed!

Growing up in the UK I never felt "Boffin" to have a negative connotation. As a white, male child interested in science, I never found myself scared of a path where I might be called a "Boffin". If anything, I found it aspirational. However, as I think a couple of other commenters have raised (and the dall-e example shows) - it does rather conjur up an image of someone who is white and male. If you hear that "boffins" have made a research breakthrough, you don't imagine that anyone on that team might have been a woman. That's the real problem.

What we really need is a video of David Attenborough narrating the mating habits of the boffin.

I'm writing this from across the pond, so we do not share identical lexica. Perhaps, if I were living in the UK, my feelings would be different, but, to my mind, "boffin" implies being at the top of the scientific hierarchy: the brainiest of the brainy. I have long since embraced the terms "nerd" and "egghead." Since my specialty is computer science, I have also embraced the term "geek." And I regularly, with pride, admit to being a "weirdo." To be brilliant and accomplished enough to be called a "boffin" is a high aspiration.

I think tabloids using the the least flattering term is par for the course.

This is why you make friends all over the world. I just love that first cut over to Sir Martyn! :D

I’m an American, and we have our own slang, but I also lived in England for 3 years growing up (near Newcastle), and they have some bloody silly slang, and somehow their relationship with the press is in some ways even more ridiculous than ours.

I consider it a playful form of envy, they hold you in high regard, take it as a sign of respect.

We don't want youngsters to think becoming a scientist is beyond them. Scientists are just human beings.

great work brady

2:41 is the most deliciously ironic and hilarious headline: "Eggheads want the term 'boffins banned..." 😂😅

The problem is judges, police officers, politicians, soldiers, veterans pretending THEY "know" anything about absolute quantifiable physical reality, especially history, especially causation in history & politics & war & law, what is a "crime" or what is "illegal" or that any negative event qualifies as "inciting violence", while having never studied or proved any of their claims, their experiences, happened as they claim they have, and stupidly generalizing what THEY deludedly think are "their experiences" somehow generalizes to anyone or anything else.

Eh, across the pond here, and I'm familiar with the term 'boffin'. It struck me as quaint, but I can see how it might seem mildly insulting. I see Prof. Moriarty's point... we have a problem in the US with A Certain Segment Of Society who view scientists as magical creatures beholden to corporate interests capable of upending the natural order of things to make what is up, down, what is down, up, and so should be viewed with a strong measure of suspicion. But scientists are just people, flawed as anyone else, but often driven by a certain kind of passion for Something Specific. Heck, some of the best ones are frankly no more intelligent than some of the blue-collar workers... they just focused on a very specific subject to become an expert at that field of interest. And if someone has studied something to that degree, and they have something to say about that subject, maybe... listen, ask questions, and learn something?

A new word has just entered my universe and I expect to start seeing it everywhere.

Isnt this a subject for your Words Of The World channel, Brady? Yeah. I havent forgotten about that channel. 😏

0:28 that cut to Sir Poliakoff 👀 I think that derogatory use of "boffin" is anti-intellectualism which breeds a dangerous form of ignorance. But "boffin" in a transatlantic accent is kind of charming.

That was a fun Sunday morning video. Because I was into electronics my nickname has hacker but that has since become a negative connotation.

Well, it's in my vocab now!

Here in NZ we refer to very intelligent people as 'boffins'

I like the term boffin, but I (an American) am most familiar with it from the Leviathan trilogy. For me it has connotations of, "dealing with stuff nobody else understands" *shrug* but I also don't ever see it in the wild.

Words are not everything, but are important ❤️

I’m surprised that a real publication the Daily Star put out an Onion-level headline. “Eggheads want term ‘boffin’ banned” is objectively hilarious. one of the few times little harm is done by their stories. Its too funny to not be a joke. Journalists do need to stop using “scientist” and start having writing the specialty with a short definition. It lumps people into a different class of “smart people” when in reality, they just have specialized knowledge like any other skilled job. For example, Nurses, you will meet nurses who believe in the most batshit crazy stupidest pseudoscience you can hear of, yet can still save your life or successfully do the medical dirty-work to keep you healthy & healing. They are not “smart” they are skilled.

Speaking as someone with a couple of science degrees and the misfortune to live somewhere that they're seen as worse than useless, I'd be delighted and flattered if someone referred to me as a boffin. I do sympathise, I really do. Hats off to the tabloids though for their epic trolling responses. I was laughing so hard I cried.

what is a tabloid?

The main concern for me is that denigrating the source of information is a way to denigrate the information itself. Language is an ongoing negotiation, true, so I am fine with scientists clapping back. Oddly, I (M, 52, Aussie) use boffin but in rare contexts and its usually jokey not pejorative.

How about a taxonomy of boffins? Like class, order, family, genus, species. E.g., Bofoptra, Bofidae, Bofus Oxidentalis?

This is a recursive function: Boffins talking about boffins talking about boffins talking about boffins…

“Three super-boffins awarded Nobel Prize in physics…” 😂

I loved Dr Chapman's response.

I'm not sure I agree with the curtailment of such a word at its base level. I understand the PR aspect, the potential negative connotations and I appreciate the sentiment from Dr Gould but I do think there is a place for a catch all term that covers specialists, scientists and researchers of all kinds. I understand it may not seem fair to lump, for example, a linguistics researcher, a fluid dynamics expert and a materials scientist under one category but they do share a commonality that is not present in other types of profession and, I think, it perfectly sensible to have a term that generically refers to these, less typical, pursuits. One could argue it becomes even more relevant as the sciences become more and more specialised and esoteric. I agree with Brady too about the possible negative optics of trying to shut it down. A deceptively complex issue though. Very interesting.

As someone who isn't and wasn't in an English-speaking country, what should I think when I hear the word for the first time? Well, it looks rather similar to "buffoon" and makes me question whether it is related somehow... After brief research, it seems like it doesn't share the origin, but might be balancing between being perceived exact opposite or the same, depending on who's looking at it...

In America... Boffin might be confused with a verb meaning to... Uh... Participate in certain extracurricular activities.

"Save Our Bottoms" is the kind of Freudian slip I can get behind.

I've never heard of the term...until now.

I agree with the take of Emma Chapman. Let's own the word and move on.

Many boffins died to bring us this information

I'm all about Dr Chapman's Spaceport Cornwall shirt.

I personally find it endearing

I was having this very discussion at work the other week. But I drew attention to it in the opposite way: "Look at the stupid journalists using words that haven't been in common usage for well over 50 years.... will they ever arrive in the 21st century?"

Great video

"Many Boffins died to bring us this information."

It's only a "term of endearment" if the subject takes it that way.

I think it's simpler than that: Boffin sounds way to close to "Buffoon". And suddenly you are in an insult territory.

I learnt a new word that describes me due to leaving this term boffin. Arcane describes me well

I am a scientist. I hate being labelled a boffin. It feels dehumanising.

Brady missed a trick here by not simply putting each professors name as they appear and "boffin" instead of their field. I feel they all know each other now to know it wouldn't be genuinely disrespectful.

Similarly, the word “tabloid” rather than “newspaper” is equally as disparaging and to me at least equates to “comic” or “beano”

Boffin? Boffin Deez Nutz!

Boffin is a compliment. Even Star Wars pointed out their sacrifice. "Many boffins died to bring us this information".

I have never even heard this term before

I don't feel one way or another about this term, but the person, presumably a native speaker, struggling to come up with a synonym for scientist was hilarious. Researcher, investigator, expert, specialist and these are just off the top of my head. I'd even say there are few jobs with so many possible alternate discriptions!

But what does it mean, where does it come from?

To be fair, the 4 journalists left on this planet aren't using this term. It's just all those imposters who need to compensate for something.

Fun watching the boffin popping off.

I'm an American so I have a different take on this because I've never seen "boffin" as a derogatory term, to me it was just always a synonym or shorthand for scientist/researcher which I never thought of as derogatory either. But to Moriarty's point if you use the field/discipline you might still conjure up similar stereotypes. Personally, I think Emma Chapman had the most salient points, just embrace it and fight bigger fights.

I would place more importance on misuse of the word 'engineer' to mean technician or fitter. It sends an awful message to kids 'Oh, there's a puddle in the utility room darling, we need to call an engineer'. This puzzles americans, germans, italians, koreans, japanese - actually everyone. We don't call pharmacists doctors, or nurses surgeons. People in the comments, say 'oh it doesn't matter mate' - they probably were also fine with racist slurs and disparagement of women until recently.

I've never heard this word before and I'm going to pretend like I still haven't.

I read banoffee sorry... But good job on creating the Streisand effect. I never knew about the word until now.

"Boffin" feels like a playful term so if the work you are doing, whether it be research or development, is fun, playful, or not readily practical, then you are a boffin. I consider awardees of the Ignobel prize to be boffins.

Not that far from that “do things actually ever ‘touch’?” debate! 😂

Notwithstanding the fact that Moriarty is rather a cool surname, James such obviously being Sherlock Holmes's arch nemesis... Phil of the ilk is easily the most enthusiastic and opinionated of any of the characters appearing on Brady's productions. At least I would much like to hear more and more often from him. I mean, the *panache*!!! 8)

FYI : "Buffo" is a true Betelgeusion word, like "Zappo" (as used in a conversation between Ford and Zaphod at the Restaurant at the end of the Universe) 😊 🇳🇱👍🏻🤝🏻

As a scientist in the U.S., I hadn't heard of this term before. But I can assure you I have been called worse things!

You should have asked who they would consider a "boffin". Can I be called a boffin? I would like to!

poliakoff caught a stray early on there fair play brady hah

Do teenagers actually read tabloids? As an American, I don't know, but I would be very surprised if they do. Seems like nobody should pay any attention to tabloids, and if they do, it's their own fault.

but 'big talk' without boffins would be just raymond terrific screaming into a camera ;)

Excellent King's X T-Shirt! 🤘

As an American, I've always thought the word boffin was cool. Like yeah, I want to be a boffin one day. I'm sad to hear it's controversial because it has such a nice sound to it.

it seems that the daily star is "respected" much, much more than the national enquirer ever was

I have often feel the term boffin is more dismissive than anything. That scientists work on important things and that boffins work on pointless things.

British tabloids: articles written by people fired by the Beano; printed on paper rejected by Andrex.