Pseudo-productive

Adjective

Only slightly productive or unproductive; lying on a spectrum between "total waste of oxygen" and "you solved world hunger"

Instead of choosing between studying and Netflix, i chose to be pseudo-productive and do a bit of both

by The annoynce jen July 23, 2022

Production

A walking specimen with NPC activities

Yo this kids a production. Yeah he looks like his name would be jimmy what a production.

by Fragile big toe July 25, 2022

productful

it has the same meaning as productive, but sounds better

i was so productful today

by weewootwitchwatcher July 30, 2022

Pseudo-productive

Only slightly productive or unproductive; lying on a spectrum between "total waste of oxygen" and "you solved world hunger"

Instead of choosing between watching TV and doing work i decided to be pseudo-productive and do a bit of both

by The annoynce jen August 2, 2022

Porchlight productions

The most amazing place in the world; a safe haven

Dam, I was so stressed until I went to porchlight productions!

by Theallknowingburrito June 6, 2022

Ghost Productive

When you spend hours looking busy, with tabs open, notes everywhere, intense face on.. but you accomplish absolutely nothing significant.

I was being "ghost productive' all day, but I still gave absolutely zero clue as to what I'm doing.

by kimchi.ngu January 26, 2026

Natural Product Synthesis

The specific challenge of creating, in the lab, compounds that are normally made by living organisms—medicines from plants, flavors from fruits, colors from insects, fragrances from flowers. Natural product synthesis is how we save endangered species (by not harvesting them), ensure consistent supply (by not depending on weather), and often improve on nature (by creating analogs that work better). It's also incredibly difficult—natural products are often complex molecules that evolution optimized over millions of years, and replicating them in glassware requires genius-level chemistry. When successful, natural product synthesis gives us steady supplies of life-saving drugs, consistent flavors for foods, and the satisfaction of having out-designed evolution, at least in one small molecule.

Example: "The cancer drug came from a rare Pacific yew tree—harvesting it was killing the trees. Natural product synthesis saved the day: chemists figured out how to make the molecule from common starting materials, and the yews could breathe easier. The synthesized drug was identical to the natural one, just without the deforestation. Nature had provided the blueprint; chemistry built the factory."

by Dumu The Void February 16, 2026