So this morning, my husband showed me this XKCD comic making fun of Neal Stephenson’s new book Anathem (Disclaimer: I have not actually read this book): Then, later today, I read (okay skimmed) an interview with Neal Stephenson on Goodreads.com where he points out that even Harry Potter has loads of made up words. How fun would it have been if J.K. Rowling had called “quidditch” the “flying hockey-like game” instead? Or if Tolkein had called hobbits the “little furry-footed g