Word.ws English Dictionary

Everest syndrome

Everest syndrome noun: the tendency of academic researchers to study things merely because they exist to be studied, regardless of the usefulness of the research.

Noun

Everest syndrome (uncountable)

  1. The tendency of academic researchers to study things merely because they exist to be studied, regardless of the usefulness of the research.
    • Maddux says further that there is an Everest Syndrome in educational computing and that there are those who "believe that computers should be brought into educational settings simply because they are there.⁹³ The result of the Everest Syndrome, according to Maddux "is an improper emphasis on...1990, Paul Saettler, The Evolution of American Educational Technology, Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, →ISBN, page 490

Forms of Everest syndrome

alternative formMount Everest syndrome
alternative formMt. Everest syndrome

Origin of Everest syndrome

In reference to George Mallory's alleged reply when asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest: "Because it's there."

Questions about Everest syndrome

What does Everest syndrome mean?
Everest syndrome means the tendency of academic researchers to study things merely because they exist to be studied, regardless of the usefulness of the research.
What part of speech is Everest syndrome?
Everest syndrome is a noun.

Words near Everest syndrome in the dictionary

  1. EverCrack
  2. Evercreech
  3. everduring
  4. evere
  5. Everest
  6. Everest syndrome
  7. Everested
  8. Everester
  9. Everesters
  10. Everesting
  11. Everestings

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Everest syndrome (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “Everest syndrome.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/everest_syndrome. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.