mokita

English - English

Definition of mokita in English English dictionary

A widely known but unspoken truth

The word mokita, from the Kiriwana language of New Guinea, translates roughly as, “that which we all know to be true, but agree not to discuss.” Human cultures and their scientific subcultures often embrace mokita, apparently as a means of avoiding uncomfortable or self-contradictory ideas and feelings. this chapter aims to be unusually proactive in the explicit acknowledgment of common fallacies, irrespective of mokita-like taboos.