12 Find Elusive Terms
Faculty Objective
- Use Generative AI to find terms you’ve temporarily forgotten.
All of us have experienced that moment of frustration when a word, name, or term is just on the edge of our memory, but we can’t quite retrieve it. This phenomenon is termed “tip-of-the-tongue (TOT)” (or lethologica) and it defines that state when we’re able to recall some features of the term—like the first letter, the number of syllables, or a similar sound, word, or meaning—but the rest of it remains elusive.
One of the first studies that looked at the TOT phenomenon was conducted in 1966 by Roger Brown and David McNeill who found this phenomenon occurred about once in every 50 questions and often the elusive term was one that was foreign, long, or used infrequently.
Compared to most search engines, Generative AI is a much more effective tool for helping with this kind of recall and provides a much more thorough response.
Considerations
- Although this is included as a faculty support, by demonstrating to students how to input an explanation for the term or concept they’re attempting to retrieve, you’ll show them how to lessen that frustration and find answers quickly.
- Please refer to cautions in the Introduction that apply to all activities using Generative AI.
Example Prompts
- Evolution is not a smooth curve. When graphed, the curve takes turns plateauing and accelerating. What’s this called?
- What is the term for relapsing into criminal behavior?
- What’s the fancy term for throwing someone out a window?
