A neighbor and book club friend called me on my use of the word sciolism at the bottom of each of my blog posts:

“Were it not for hypocrisy, I’d have no advice to give.”
“Were it not for sciolism, I’d have no ideas to share.”
“Were it not for arrogance, I’d have no ambition.”
“Were it not for forgetfulness, I would have no new ideas to write about.”

“I love this word,” he said. “But I wouldn’t call what you do sciolism. I think of you as my good ultracrepidarian friend.”

Hmm… he may be right. Merriam-Webster defines sciolism as “a superficial show of learning.” Ultracrepidarian is defined as “expressing opinions on matters outside the scope of one’s knowledge or expertise.” There is a slight difference. The former indicates an inability to appear as if I know what I’m talking about. I’d prefer to think that my BS is convincing.