Research papers using "kidney disappointment" instead of "kidney failure"
A peculiar Google Scholar search reveals a growing trend of academic papers employing the phrase 'kidney disappointment' instead of 'kidney failure'. This unusual linguistic substitution, along with other 'tortured phrases,' points to the widespread use of automated paraphrasing tools or poor machine translation. The phenomenon has sparked a lively discussion on Hacker News about academic integrity, the influence of AI on research, and the sometimes-comical results of synonym replacement.
The Lowdown
A recent discovery on Google Scholar has brought to light an unsettling linguistic trend: academic papers using the term 'kidney disappointment' in place of the medically accurate 'kidney failure.' This strange wording, found in numerous scholarly articles, raises immediate questions about its origin and implications for scientific communication.
- This bizarre phrasing is an example of what researchers call 'tortured phrases'—nonsensical word combinations (like 'bosom peril' for breast cancer) that arise from automated synonym replacement.
- The primary theories for their appearance involve attempts to circumvent plagiarism detection software, often through the use of pre-LLM 'spinner' tools, or poor machine translation by non-native English speakers.
- Commenters provided other examples of such linguistic mishaps, including 'the mass killing of an ethnic group' instead of 'the final solution' in a chemistry paper, and 'lactose bigotry' for 'lactose intolerance.'
- The discussion also touched upon the existence of 'paper mills' that generate bulk fake studies for academics seeking promotions, suggesting that such papers are often 'write-only' media where nonsensical text goes unnoticed.
- The issue has historical parallels to projects like SCIgen, which generated satirical but publishable computer science papers years ago.
The widespread occurrence of 'kidney disappointment' and similar phrases underscores a concerning erosion of academic rigor and highlights the unintended consequences of technology designed to automate or detect textual similarity in scientific literature.
The Gossip
The Tortured Text Takeover
Many commenters quickly identified the phenomenon as 'tortured phrases,' where words are replaced by unusual synonyms, often resulting in nonsensical or humorous text. This is primarily attributed to automated paraphrasing tools used to circumvent plagiarism detection, a practice predating modern LLMs. Examples like 'bosom peril' (breast cancer), 'the mass killing of an ethnic group' (the final solution), and 'heart fiasco' illustrate the comical and concerning degradation of academic language.
Translation's Tangled Tongue
Another prominent theory for these strange phrases points to poor machine translation, especially when non-native English speakers are involved. Commenters shared anecdotes of similar issues, such as 'water goat' for 'hydraulic ram' from Russian engineering literature or 'person weighs' for 'bathroom scale,' highlighting how repeated or flawed machine translation processes can lead to highly unintuitive and often humorous terminology.
Academic Anarchy and AI's Ascent
The discussion naturally extended to the broader implications for academic integrity. Some commenters debated whether modern LLMs or older 'spinner' tools were responsible, noting that the 'kidney disappointment' example predates widespread conversational AI. The underlying issue, however, remains the incentivization for academics to publish, leading to the use of 'paper mills' and text manipulation, where nonsensical language is overlooked in 'write-only' journals as long as plagiarism checks are evaded.