Brainstorming

So last night I was chatting to my lad ( who is 11) about a project he is doing at school  and I suggested we had a bit of a "brainstorming" session, meaning that we should have a chat about his ideas for the project. Nothing untoward there you might think, but no.  This is what I was told:

"You can't say brainstorming any more Dad. We've been told by our ICT (school speak for IT)teacher. It's offensive to epileptics. You've got to call it a "brain shower" ".

Naturally,  I assumed that he was taking the mickey, he being of an age whereby that sort of thing causes him much amusement, although I can't for the life of me think why.  But he wasn't. He was deadly serious and so we added "political correctness" to our chat about the project he was working on. 

Since this was nagging away at me, I thought I'd have a quick look at the Epilepsy Action site to see whether this was simply something that had completely passed me by.  At first I couldn't find anything, and so my next stop, as it so often is these days, was Wikipedia.

Here I found my answer with a reasonable explanation about the "controversy" surrounding the use of "brainstorm" as a word. And that, in turn directed me to the precise page on the Epilepsy Action website which addressed this issue as follows:

We are often asked about the word 'brainstorming' and whether its use is acceptable. Our view is that it depends upon the context: if the word is being used to describe a meeting where participants are suggesting ideas, then its use is not offensive to people with epilepsy. However, it should not be used to describe a seizure or the electrical activity within the brain during a seizure.

Ah, the context. Of course.  Why would you want to explain that to children?  I can only assume it's much easier to tell them not to do something at all, than explain about using words in context.  I'd like to write to the teacher and tell him  about my discovery and the contextual issues, and how I'd like my son to go on using "brainstorm" rather than convert to "brain shower" or "thought shower"  even if he doesn't like. Except that he does not have an email address.  Heaven forbid, he's only the ICT teacher. And according to my son, he has no idea what a blog is, either.  I'm sure that one's a joke.

Comments

[D]

Of course you could always write a letter to the IT teacher.........

[Cyn]

Sadistically, it's nice to know that stunnedness is universal. That we here in Canada are not the only ones whose education systems are lacking in some very basic ways.
Yikes, no email for an IT teacher. C'est domage.

[David Tebbutt]

Well that drops me right in it. I have been publishing a Windows software program which helps people brainstorm with themselves, among other things. Oddly enough it's called BrainStorm, a word for which I also happen to own the trademark.
Incidentally, I am involved in a local charity for people with cerebral palsy. Strangely enough, they have more important things to worry about than whether someone is using a politically incorrect word.

[Mark Lloyd]

Thanks for the comments all of you, and David too. Interested to hear that you own a trade mark in the word. Looking at the Trade Marks Registry I see there are 8 marks for Brainstorm, one of which I assume is yours. Clearly the UK Patent Office is as unconcerned as the charity you are involved in.

[David Tebbutt]

Well they were in 1982 and I guess that, having granted the mark, all they care about is the renewal fee.

[Paul Goodison]

Mark

Thanks for the pointer. My wife (who is a infant teacher - also with no email) told me in the summer that she was not allowed to use the phrase but had no idea why. Glad to at least know but saddened that people go to such extreme lengths on political correctness.

[Mark Lloyd]

Thanks for the comment Paul. It seems to have become almost a stock mantra which nobody really ever questions. I thought David's comment above was spot on: People should have more important things to worry about. Still didn't stop me blogging it!