Take a word, or even better a compound noun, check a dictionary to find all definitions of the word(s).
Does one of the component words have a meaning you can play with? For instance, does it have a 'common' meaning and a 'scientific' one?
Bingo.
You have all you need for an article.
The man-machine comment series in German Spiegel online is a column that perfectly illustrates the modus operandi described above.
This time, the topic is "swarm intelligence", and how the internet swarm - that's you and me - is not really intelligent.
Make sure to call the word you are about to dissect "over used", "over hyped", or similar, then ad a pinch of empathy by calling it "misunderstood". This is the hallmark of a critical thinker and explainer extraordinaire.
Ignore one meaning -- preferably the scientific one.
In order to get paid for that, you have to write a few hundred more words, but with just a little effort, it's a done deal.
Any intelligent water drop could do it (Intelligent water drops algorithm), but we all know that in our culture intelligent water drops meet the same level of prejudice and disdain normally reserved for the British finance minister (known in Greek myths as the deuce ex-checker).
You are welcome to send us examples and suggestions.
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