The problem with “Novel”
Over the course of research related activities, I have had the privilege (duty? requirement?) of reading lots of journal articles. Hundreds of them.
As a result of this, I have one complaint: I hate the word “novel”. Not in the nounish “I wrote a novel” form, but in the adjective-ish “my new technique is novel” form.
I just feel like it is presuming too much. I don’t think the originator of an idea is the proper person to pass judgment on how novel it is. “Unique” is fine, you can tell me it is unique. “Useful” is fine too, though you should probably tell me why it is useful, because useful to you is not necessarily useful to me. “Novel” just strikes me wrong. A little too self-congratulatory.
As far as rants go, this one is pretty minor. But it still bugs me.
