Livre d'Or

We're working on it. I don't want anyone leaving my classroom as a target for scientific duplicity.
I love you very much for being a science teacher (and caring about something beyond exam results). Thank you so much for doing that.

Science as gnosticism
Mm, nice way of phrasing it. In a way it is more analogous to gnosticism than magic, because it's all about knowledge, and knowledge which is hidden from anyone not initiated. Whereas magic is at least sometimes thought of as a talent that some people have naturally.

It's too easy to think that we can't explain things in simple terms, to hide behind jargon and symbols. It's academic sloppiness
I couldn't agree more. I think it's also a bit of a vicious circle because scientists are allowed to get away with jargon by people who expect not to be able to understand what they're talking about.