Cover Image: November 2001 Scientific American Magazine See Inside

Acronym Acrimony [Preview]

Do whimsical names encourage sales over science?

By Brenda Goodman















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Whimsy leads to worry

ON TRIAL: Whimsy leads to worry. Image: BETH PHILLIPS

What's in a name, the Bard asked. We thought about titling this story "SMART" (See My Article? Read This!), "WISE" (Writing Inside

Smartest Ever) or "FUNNY" (Fine Use of Nouns and No Yawns). The struggle to strike a balance between an eye-catching, memorable name


This article was originally published with the title Acronym Acrimony.



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