Let X = "the natural feeling of inadequacy that pretty much everyone feels when learning new things". Your question is a bit confusing. It sounds like you ackn

Let X = "the natural feeling of inadequacy that pretty much everyone feels when learning new things". Your question is a bit confusing. It sounds like you acknowledge X's existence, but are mostly unhappy with the naming, since "imposter" implies a negative connotation (which X isn't), and "syndrome" implies that it is some sort of exceptional condition (where X isn't). I agree with you on that about X. That said, I think imposter syndrome isn't about X per se. I am more interested in the case where X gets into smart people's heads and prevents them from being as successful as they can be (projecting a bit, because I too have imposter syndrome). In these cases, it makes sense to not only label it, but also give it a slight negative connotation. At that point, X becomes a phenomenon that is worth talking about.