Re: I just heard another one

[Ned Bedinger <doc -at- edwordsmith -dot- com>]

Gene Kim-Eng wrote:
> This term has been used as a verb by astronmers for a 
> very long time (meteors "impact" on the surface of planets).
> I can recall hearing it as far back as the 1950's.

This is cool, to think that astronomical imagery is the thing that makes 
'impact' the word of choice for punching up every little mundane thing 
that happens into something dramatic that impacts, is impactful, or will 
be impacted.

I personally have tended to think such usage comes from the field of 
dentistry. Project managers seem to be harking to that when they 
describe a deliverable as  'going sideways' when it starts taking up 
more than its allocation of space in the timeline, impacting the project 
budget and schedule.

Until we start encouraging business people to complete their thoughts 
about alleged impact--they could refer to deliverables as wisdom teeth, 
for example, or quantify the size of the impact in terms of kilotons of 
TNT--I'm afraid we'll just have to guess at the impressive imagery 
they're hoping to evoke.

Ned "This reorg will produce vivid sunsets for years to come"
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