New words – 1 June 2020

Kemter / E+ / Getty

superforecaster noun [C]
UK /ˌsuː.pə.ˈfɔː.kɑː.stəʳ/ US /ˌsuː.pɚ.ˈfɔːr.kæs.tɚ/
someone whose job is to predict what certain events or situations are going to be like in the future, and who can do this very accurately

One of the subjects which a group of superforecasters is tackling now is the total number of Covid-19 infected, and the mortality rate, of the virus a year from now … Here’s what the group of superforecasters … think the figures will be by end March 2021: total global infected population below 7 per cent (with many estimates below 4 per cent), with a case fatality rate of one per cent.
[businesstimes.com.sg, 18 April 2020]

hyperleader noun [C]
UK /ˈhaɪ.pə.ˌliː.dəʳ/ US /ˈhaɪ.pə.ˌliː.dɚ/
the leader of a political party who is more popular than the party they lead and who uses social media to engage with their supporters

These modern “hyperleaders” invert the relationship between politician and party. In contrast to the representative model of democracy where politicians were figureheads and parties were the true repositories of power, the hyperleader may have a far larger social media base than their organisation. They float above the party, lifting it into the air through their personal visibility.
[www.newstatesman.com, 8 March 2019]

edupreneur noun [C]
UK /ˌedʒ.u.prəˈnɜːʳ/ US /ˌedʒ.ə.prəˈnɝː/
an entrepreneur who works in the field of education

Edupreneurs are now offering educational opportunities through online courses, mastermind groups, digital apprenticeships, bootcamps, coworking retreats and all kinds of other innovative ways teachers are dreaming up to get results for their students.
[diygenius.com, 24 July 2019]

About new words

5 thoughts on “New words – 1 June 2020

  1. “Superforecaster: someone whose job is to predict what certain events or situations are going to be like in the future, and who can do this very accurately”

    I’ve certainly seen the idea of prediction aggregation and skilled forecasting gain traction over the past few years, based on Tetlock’s work and that of other groups. However, I think the definition needs to be clearer, since it refers to someone with a publicly validated track record of prediction accuracy exceeding that of domain experts, working as part of team that produces an aggregated estimate. That is not necessarily someone paid to do so, but does require both a validated history, and the use of the other critical part of what Tetlock’s work found, which is that aggregation of multiple validated forecasters produces far more accurate results.

Leave a Reply