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"boffin" is British slang for a scientist/researcher. It's got generally positive connotations indicating that the said person is smart. Since The Register is
by elemeno 14y ago
"boffin" is British slang for a scientist/researcher. It's got generally positive connotations indicating that the said person is smart.
Since The Register is a British site, and is also known for often being somewhat tongue in cheek, there really isn't anything to read in to their use of the word.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boffin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boffin
- DanBC 14y agoStill, science reporting is generally terrible and the Register is an awful awful source.
- kragen 14y agoFrom the refs on that page, http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2010/sep/24/scientists-boffin-stereotype http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2010/sep/24/scientist... "There is little that irritates scientists more than the idea of the "boffin". This century-old meme has at least two flavours: the befuddled, bespectacled, bad-hair-day (or no-hair-day) man, socially inept but somewhat cuddly (think Doc in Back To The Future); and there is the more sinister iteration: the equally dishevelled but cold, arrogant and/or mad male meddler, bent on no good (think Rotwang in Metropolis). "Neither of these versions is remotely flattering, and neither bears any resemblance to reality."